Wall Street indices posted modest gains during yesterday’s session and futures prices suggest that the trend will be maintained at the opening bell.
Optimism that the Federal Reserve will maintain its cautious tone over monetary policy and possibly provide further clarity over the timing of any move in interest rates is lending support, although markets do seem to be looking for that goldilocks zone once again. There’s a meaningful risk that if the Fed lays down too cautious a picture, US equities will be rattled by the accompany fall in domestic demand.
US economic data today will once again be relatively thin on the ground, although January’s factory order data, due for release shortly after the opening bell, could provide some fresh direction. A month on month improvement has been forecast here, so failure to deliver that has the potential to increase the level of caution over just how dovish the Fed will be tomorrow.
Earnings news highlights include FedEx (NYSE:FDX), with the delivery company reporting after the closing bell. Expectations are for a modest decline in revenues and with that in turn acting as a barometer of trade activity, even a small miss here could take a toll on broader sentiment.
Ahead of the open we’re calling the Dow up 86 at 26000 and the S&P 500 up 9 at 2842.