Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 72 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.4%.
Generac rose more than 30% in extended trading after Amazon received warrants to buy up to $340 million of its shares. The warrants are part of a deal in which Generac will supply Amazon with backup power generators for its data centers.
In regular trading, the blue-chip Dow lost more than 630 points, or 1.2%, dragged down by financial services names. The broad market S&P 500 edged lower by 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the session marginally lower.
In a widely anticipated move, the Fed raised the overnight federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday afternoon, bringing the target range to 3.75%-4%. Policymakers also signaled another hike could come this year, with Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh saying that inflation remains too high.
Indeed, August’s latest consumer price index reading came in 3.4%, and oil prices have surpassed $100 per barrel.
“The bigger question now is whether this rate increase is one and done or the beginning of another tightening cycle,” said Steve Rick, chief economist at TruStage.
“Higher oil prices stemming from continued conflict in the Middle East could keep inflation elevated, but monetary policy works with long and variable lags, and additional increases would put more pressure on consumers and businesses already facing elevated borrowing costs,” he added. “The Fed should give this increase time to work before determining how much additional restraint is necessary.”
Investors are now turning to Thursday’s economic data for further clues on the health of the economy.
Weekly jobless claims data will be out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Traders are also monitoring August’s housing starts, which could offer a read on how elevated borrowing costs are affecting residential construction.
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