By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock market futures were flat
after a brief surge on Wednesday, as investors reacted to an
unexpected drop in consumer price index--a key inflation
measure.
The falling rate of inflation, which the CPI implies, means the
Federal Reserve gives more credence to the notion that the Fed will
stick to its current creeping course of dialing back economic
stimulus.
Worries about the Federal Open Market Committee meeting
conclusions have colored much of the market action in the past few
days. However, earlier sentiment on Wednesday was helped by
People's Bank of China's most recent steps to inject billions into
its banking system in order to boost flagging growth.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down a a point
at 17,052, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) inched up
less than a point to 1,992. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4)
were flat at 4,058.25.
In economic news, U.S. consumer prices fell in August for the
first time in 16 months, largely because of a decline in the cost
of filling up at the gas station, the government reported
Wednesday. Separately, the U.S. current account deficit fell to
$98.5 billion in the second quarter from a revised $102.2 billion
in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
A home builders' index is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern
Time.
Wednesday's spotlight falls on the FOMC statement, due at 2 p.m.
Eastern Time. That will be followed by a news conference with
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. Less fretting over rate
hikes seemed to push the Dow industrials (DJI) to an intraday
record high on Tuesday, and the S&P 500 index (SPX) to its
biggest one-day gain in four weeks.
Some attributed those gains to a an article by Jon Hilsenrath,
chief economic correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, who said
in a webcast that he thinks the Fed may keep the words
"considerable time" in its policy statement, but with
clarification. He added that the Fed probably doesn't want to send
a signal right now that rate hikes are imminent. Eight keys to
Fed's September meeting and Fed's exit plan may be a bumpy ride for
investors
If the "considerable time" phrase sticks, the market will be
left as complacent on interest rates as it was two weeks ago, said
Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG, in a note. However, "it will
mean that equity indexes should recover some of the upward momentum
that has been lacking in recent sessions," he added. Need to Know:
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In Asia, Hong Kong stocks broke a five-session losing streak
after a senior Chinese banking executive said the People's Bank of
China is injecting 500 billion yuan ($81 billion) into the
country's five big state-owned banks to help counter an economic
slowdown. A string of recent weak data has heightened worries among
investors.
Stocks to watch: Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUXL) soared 44%
in premarket, after news late Tuesday that Endo International PLC
(ENDP) will buy it for $28.10 per share in a cash-and-stock deal.
Endo was up 5%.
Lennar Corp.(LEN) rose 5% after posting a 47% rise in
third-quarter profit on Wednesday as higher prices and deliveries
drove up revenue.
General Mills Inc. (GIS) fell 3% after posting a disappointing
quarterly profit.
DuPont (DD) shares rose 4% after an investor urged a breakup of
the company.
FedEx Corp. (FDX) rose 2.1% in premarket trade after posting
better-than-expected profit and sales.
U.S. Steel Corp. (X) was up 7% after the company said it was
making major strategic changes late Tuesday.
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) fell 4%. The software maker posted
quarterly results on Tuesday.
Rackspace Hosting Inc. (RAX) tumbled 18% after the
cloud-computing company said it won't be selling itself.
Other markets: The Stoxx Europe 600 index took inspiration from
Wall Street and China stimulus, while the FTSE 100 managed small
gains ahead of Thursday's vote on Scottish independence. Gold(GCZ4)
was unable to hang onto positive territory. Barclays cut its
forecast for the metal, citing risks skewed to the downside.
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