As the U.S. equity futures approached the opening bell on Wednesday, traders noted modest increases as anticipation built around the Federal Reserve's impending interest rate decision. The futures for major indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all marked an uptick of approximately 0.1%.
In the commodities market, oil prices have taken a hit, with the front-month global benchmark, North Sea Brent crude, declining by 0.8%, settling at $73.08 per barrel. Similarly, the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude saw a decrease of 0.9%, priced at $69.34 per barrel. The U.S. housing market showed signs of strength as well, with housing starts reported at 1.356 million annualized units for August, a rise from July's 1.237 million.
This figure surpassed Bloomberg’s predictions of a more modest increase to 1.32 million. On another positive note, building permits surged to 1.475 million from the previous month’s 1.406 million, again outpacing the estimates of 1.41 million. Later today, at 2 PM ET, the Federal Open Market Committee is set to unveil a crucial policy statement, which could influence market trends significantly.
Looking at global indices, Japan’s Nikkei recorded a 0.5% gain, while China’s Shanghai Composite mirrored this increase, also closing up by 0.5%. In contrast, the Hong Kong market remained closed for a public holiday. The UK’s FTSE 100 experienced a downturn of 0.6%, and Germany’s DAX index slightly dipped by 0.05% during the early afternoon session in Europe.
In corporate news, Intuitive Machines ($LUNR) saw its shares soar by 53% following the announcement that it secured a Near Space Network contract potentially worth up to $4.82 billion from NASA. Meanwhile, Applied Therapeutics ($APLT) experienced a 40% rise in shares after the FDA indicated that an advisory committee meeting would no longer be necessary concerning the new drug application for its treatment candidate addressing Classic Galactosemia.
Conversely, Cibus ($CBUS) faced challenges as shares plunged nearly 19% after news broke regarding a planned public offering of its class A common shares. Overall, these developments capture the market's fluctuating landscape, as investors navigate through economic indicators and corporate performances amid a highly awaited Federal Reserve decision..