Wall Street little changed in early trading ahead of Q3 earnings and FOMC
Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day in a calm manner on Wednesday as investors remained on the sidelines waiting for the third quarter earnings results and the FOMC's September meeting minutes.
Boosted by solid gains seen in retailer Kroger, the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Index (SPLRCS) gained nearly 0.4%. However, the potential positive impact on the equity indexes was offset by a sharp 0.5% drop witnessed in the S&P 500 Financials Index (SPSY) amid experts' expectation of soft earnings. JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup will both be reporting their Q3 data on Thursday. “Third quarter results of large banks are expected to be tepid. Trading revenue (will be) down due to low volatility and loan growth remaining flat to slightly negative,” Stephen Biggar, an analyst at Argus Research, told Reuters.
Later in the session, the FOMC is going to release the minutes of the September meeting. “There may not be any new information, but the market will be susceptible to any sort of negative headline that might come out,” Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida, noted.
As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was gaining 11.68 points, or 0.05%, at 22,842.36, the S&P 500 was flat at 2,548.50 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 5.45 points, or 0.08 percent, at 6,592.71.
Key headlines:
- US Dollar drops further, near 92.80 ahead of FOMC
- US: Number of job openings was little changed at 6.1 million
- Fed’s Evans: Premature to make call on December hike - BBG TV
- WTI clings to gains around $51.00 ahead of API
- US: Expect above-trend GDP growth in H2 2017 – HSBC
- FOMC meeting minutes in focus – Deutsche Bank