US stock index futures edged up on Wednesday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at a conference to gauge his view on interest rates and the state of the economy.
Treasury yields have retreated sharply from their highs amid expectations that the Fed has reached the end of its rate-hike campaign, helping the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notch their longest streak of gains in two years on Tuesday.
Markets are now pricing in rate cuts as soon as in May, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, with odds of a cut of at least 25 basis points having risen to nearly 52%, compared with about 41% a week earlier.
Still, cautious comments from several central bank officials over the past few days have kept investors on edge, with Fed Governor Michelle Bowman flagging the possibility of further rate hikes given the strength of the U.S. economy.
All eyes will be on Powell’s opening remarks before the Federal Reserve Division of Research and Statistics Centennial Conference at 9:15 a.m. ET (1415 GMT) for more clues on how long U.S. monetary policy could stay restrictive.
The Fed Chair is also due to speak at another conference on Thursday.
“One thing I would be interested to see is if he follows suit with a few other Fed speakers and pushes back a little bit against the loosening of financial conditions,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.
“I’m of the opinion that the Fed does not cut rates unless the economy slows substantially from here and potentially is already in a recession.”
The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield edged lower to 4.556%, coming further off the 5% level breached in October.
Analysts have mixed views about the outlook for equities towards the end of the year, with some cautiously optimistic about the prospects of a rally, while others have highlighted the likelihood of economic growth concerns and tepid earnings forecasts keeping sentiment subdued.
On the earnings front, eBay shed 8.0% premarket as the e-commerce platform forecast fourth-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates.
Under Armour added 1.1% on raising its annual gross margin forecast.
At 8:28 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 32 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.07%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 5.25 points, or 0.03%.
Among other movers, electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive climbed 6.1% in premarket trading after raising its full-year production forecast, while smaller rival Lucid Group fell 6.5% after trimming its production forecast.
Take-Two Interactive Software rose 10.2% on a report stating its Rockstar Games unit plans to announce the next “Grand Theft Auto” game as early as this week.
Shares of Spirit AeroSystems tumbled 13.5% after the embattled aerospace supplier announced new measures to raise capital.
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