Yesterday’s much awaited FOMC meeting verdict certainly didn’t fail to disappoint, with a significantly more dovish that expected message emerging. Just three months ago, the Fed was talking of two rate hikes this year, but now that’s been revised down to none. With domestic growth revised lower and a slowing global economy being flagged too, even the prospect of cheaper borrowing was insufficient to shore up stocks. Yesterday’s selling therefore looks set to be continued at the opening bell on Thursday, with the most obvious question being whether this is indeed the end of the decade-long bull run.
There may be some solace in the Philadelphia Fed’s business outlook survey for March which will be released ahead of the opening bell. This is predicted to post a return to positive territory and with stocks already beaten down, may have the potential to trigger some opportunistic buying in the short term. An earnings update from Nike (NYSE:NKE) will also be scrutinised for clues over changing consumer habits, but otherwise it could prove to be a relatively quiet day as markets continue to digest last night’s words from the Fed.
Ahead of the open we’re calling the Dow down 101 at 25645 and the S&P 500 down 7 at 2817.