U.S. stock futures fell on Wednesday after a mixed close on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell began his two-day testimony in front of Congress. All benchmark indices were lower except the Russell 2000.
Traders await the inflation data today as economists and betting markets are predicting a modest inflation report for January, boosting investor optimism that price pressures are easing and the Federal Reserve may continue its path toward interest rate cuts.
The headline consumer price index is forecasted to remain at 2.9% year-over-year, based on median economist predictions tracked by TradingEconomics. Monthly, inflation is expected to increase by 0.3%, a slight deceleration from December’s 0.4% rise.
The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.54%, while the two-year yield was at 4.29%. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, there is a 95.5% chance that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged for the March meeting.
Futures
Change (+/-)
Nasdaq 100
-0.07%
S&P 500
-0.15%
Dow Jones
-0.17%
Russell 2000
0.07%
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) both experienced negative premarket trading on Wednesday. SPY fell 0.14% to $604.45, and QQQ declined 0.06% to $527.67, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From The Last Session
Wall Street ended Tuesday’s session with a mixed performance as investors reacted to further tariff announcements and awaited key inflation figures.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares declined sharply following news of a partnership between Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD and AI firm DeepSeek to develop self-driving technology.
DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) surged in after-hours after strong results. Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) tumbled 5.4% after missing first-quarter guidance expectations and Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) jumped 4.73% after beating expectations.
Federal Reserve Chair Powell began his two-day testimony before Congress, stating that the Fed is in no hurry to change interest rates and reiterated its stance of not commenting on trade policy.
Communication services, health care, and consumer discretionary sectors fell, while all other sectors rose on Tuesday.
The Dow rose 123 points or 0.28% to 44,593.65, the S&P …