(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, with investors also assessing the fallout from fresh COVID-19 restrictions in China.
Traders see a 91% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike by the U.S. central bank at the conclusion of its meet on Wednesday. However, investors are likely to focus on projections showing just how far policymakers think rates will need to rise this year and in 2023 and 2024 to tame inflation.
Big banks, set to benefit from the first rate hike since 2018, traded mixed, while megacap growth names Microsoft Corp and Meta Platforms Inc both gained 0.7% to lead gains among tech titans.
Delta Air Lines Inc and United Airlines jumped 2.4% and 2.8%, respectively, as the U.S. carriers raised their current-quarter revenue forecasts, highlighting a recovery in air travel as the Omicron variant loosens its grip on the country.
Still, a lack of progress in Ukraine-Russia talks to end their weeks-long conflict weighed on sentiment, with the Kremlin saying it was too early to make predictions about the possible results.
Marathon Oil fell 4.4% in premarket trading to lead losses among oil and gas producers. Crude prices slid to $100 a barrel after scaling as much as $139 last week on fears of supply disruptions following Western sanctions on Russian oil. [O/R]
Semiconductor makers Qualcomm Inc, Micron, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices slipped between 0.3% and 0.6% as worries of another round of chip shortages mounted after China sealed off key electronics hub Shenzhen to control a spike in COVID-19 cases.
At 7:08 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 34 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 10.5 points, or 0.25%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 57 points, or 0.44%.
The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose for a third straight session.
(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
