US pre-open: Stock futures higher as investors eye Fed policy, US elections
US stock futures were slightly higher on Monday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and monitored news surrounding the presidential election.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.09% at 18,105 points, S&P 500 futures increased 0.14% to 2,125.25 points and Nasdaq futures grew 0.3% to 4,819.50 points.
In contrast, oil prices fell after producers outside of OPEC made no commitment to join the cartel in curbing output to prop up prices during a meeting in Vienna on Saturday.
West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 0.55% to $48.43 per barrel and Brent crude fell 0.75% to $49.34 per barrel at 1141 GMT.
The Federal Reserve announces its policy decision on Thursday. While no change is expected, traders will be closely scrutinising the central bank’s statement for any clues on whether an interest rate hike is likely in December.
Meanwhile, the market pared some of Friday’s losses following the latest news on the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails ahead of the 8 November election. The dollar also recovered, rising 0.18% against the pound, 0.30% against the yen and 0.34% versus the euro.
Investigators have reportedly discovered metadata on the laptop of former Rep. Anthony Weiner, which suggests that thousands of emails containing confidential information may have been sent to or from the private server that Clinton used while she was secretary of state.
“What was looking to be a relatively comfortable win for Hillary Clinton, a market friendly outcome at least in the near term, has now just opened right up again,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
“At this stage there is no proof that Clinton is guilty of any wrongdoing and yet that is almost irrelevant as the seed of doubt has once again been planted. The timing of the disclosure could be very damaging for Clinton’s campaign and markets hate the uncertainty that this brings.”
On the economic data front, the core personal consumption expenditure deflator, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, is due at 1230 BST.
Personal spending and income data will be released at the same time, followed by the Chicago PMI at 1345 GMT and the Dallas Fed manufacturing index at 1430 GMT.
Investors are also looking forward to the highly-anticipated US non-farm payrolls report on Friday. Strong figures will likely increase expectations for the rate hike by the Fed in December.
In company news, General Electric shares rose in pre-market trade after announcing a deal to create an energy powerhouse with Baker Hughes. Shares in Baker Hughes also gained.
Level 3 Communications rallied before the opening bell after the communications services company confirmed it will be taken over by CenturyLink Inc.