52 minutes ago
The producer price index for November will be published on Wednesday
November’s producer price index, scheduled to be released Wednesday morning, is expected to show a 0.1% increase, compared with a 0.5% decline a month earlier, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Excluding food and energy, an increase of 0.2% is expected, compared to a stagnant figure in the previous month.
The data is expected at 8:30 a.m. ET.
—Sarah Min
An hour ago
The Fed’s big interest rate decision is imminent. Here’s what to expect on Wednesday
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates on hold when its two-day meeting ends at 2 p.m. ET.
The real scope for action – and potential market mover – will be how central bank policymakers proceed from here and whether their messaging contains any clues about what’s next on interest rates.
Economists and traders will be keeping an eye on the central bank’s statement, which should provide details on how the Federal Open Market Committee views the state of employment, inflation and economic growth.
This time, the Fed will also release its dot plot, a grid of its members’ interest rate forecasts. Here, market participants may gain insight into policymakers’ stance on the expected timing of cuts.
Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference, which traders will be watching closely, will also provide additional context on the Fed’s decision – and where policy might go from here. The event could be a market mover.
Read more about the Fed’s big decision here.
-Darla Mercado, Jeff Cox
An hour ago
The volatility index closed at a four-year low on Tuesday, says BTIG’s Krinsky
The CBOE market volatility index, which tracks expected moves in the S&P 500 over the next 30 days but is widely considered Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” fell another 4.5% on Tuesday to 12.07, a level that Jonathan Krinsky , technical analyst at BTIG, had reported the lowest closing price since November 2019. “It feels like ‘not a living thing is stirring,’” Krinsky wrote in a midday note on Tuesday.
Stocks have been rallying since Halloween, and Krinsky noted, “Uptrends can clearly last longer than many expect, but given the state of the VIX and some of these divergences, we would remain cautious here.”
Conditions could soon resemble those of early 2018, when both the VIX and S&P 500 rose simultaneously after the VIX traded below 9 in November 2017, “resulting in something of a ‘blowoff’ by the end of January… Should.” If markets remain in demand through year-end, this scenario would gain credibility,” Krinsky wrote.
—Scott Schnipper, Michael Bloom
An hour ago