US stocks lower before Fed decision
US stock index futures were lower on Thursday ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
|||New York - US stock index futures were lower on Thursday ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
The Fed will announce the outcome of its policy meeting at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), followed by a press conference by Chair Janet Yellen at 2:30 p.m. ET.
An increase in the Fed's benchmark rate, from near zero, would be the first since 2006.
Fed fund futures see a 30 percent chance the Fed will pull the trigger. Of the 80 economists polled by Reuters, 35 said a rise is likely on Thursday.
Energy stocks pushed Wall Street higher on Wednesday after an almost 6-percent jump in oil prices, but trading was thin as investors braced for the Fed.
Speculation about when the Fed will move has dogged Wall Street for months, and recent market turbulence linked to slowing growth in China has further complicated the picture.
Many analysts say a rate hike now would help remove a lot of the uncertainty that has troubled investors.
“As it stands now considering [Wednesday's] market rally, the bearish decision will be for the Fed not to hike,” Mike O'Rourke, chief market strategist at Jones Trading, said in a note.
The Fed has said it will raise rates when it sees a sustained recovery in the economy. While the unemployment rate has fallen to multi-year lows, inflation has remained stuck at 1.8 percent, below the Fed's 2 percent target.
Shares of Cablevision jumped 16.3 percent to $33.20 premarket after European telecoms group Altice agreed to buy the company in a deal valued at $17.7 billion.
Oracle was down 1.4 percent at $37.74 a day after the company warned that revenue could fall in the current quarter.
REUTERS