Stock futures were steady in overnight trading Tuesday, as Wall Street awaited a long-awaited interest rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve after a multi-year campaign aimed at curbing hot inflation.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 15 points and S&P 500 futures hovered near the flat line. Futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.05%.
Wall Street came out of a mixed session that saw the S&P 500 rise 0.03% after hitting an all-time high during intraday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 16 points. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%.
Investors are on high alert ahead of the Federal Reserve's first expected interest rate cut at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
This month's meeting is set to be one of the most important in years as the central bank prepares to cool its aggressive rate-hiking cycle, which began in March 2022.
The US central bank is also widely expected to join others around the world in starting its own rate-cutting cycle. The only remaining question seems to be how far the US central bank will cut rates.
Traders currently see a quarter-point rate cut as the most likely outcome, although as many as 41% expect a half-point move, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.
The size of the first step and the scale of the overall monetary easing are still under discussion, while the looming US election is another complicating factor for global investors and rate-setters looking for guidance from the Fed and pinning their hopes on a soft economic landing.
