Stocks Decline As Traders Wait For FOMC Minutes

Market Waits For Clues From The Fed

S&P 500 futures are losing some ground in premarket trading as traders are worried about rising coronavirus cases and the future of Fed’s asset purchase program.

Today, the market will focus on FOMC Minutes, which should provide additional insight on Fed’s thoughts about the current economic situation and the potential cut of its asset purchase program.

If FOMC Minutes show that Fed is leaning towards a more hawkish stance, stocks may find themselves under more pressure.

Meanwhile, Treasury yields are moving higher, but the yield of 10-year Treasuries remains below the 20 EMA at 1.29%. In case the yield of 10-year Treasuries manages to settle above this level, it will head towards the 50 EMA at 1.35% which may put some pressure on tech stocks.

Housing Starts Declined By 7% In July

The U.S. has just released Building Permits and Housing Starts reports for July. Building Permits increased by 2.6% month-over-month in July compared to analyst consensus which called for growth of 1%.

Meanwhile, Housing Starts declined by 7% while analysts expected that they would decline by 2.6%.

S&P 500 futures did not react to the release of these reports, and it looks that traders will stay focused on FOMC Minutes which will be released later today.

WTI Oil Rebounds As Crude Inventories Decline

Yesterday, API Crude Oil Stock Change report indicated that crude inventories declined by 1.16 million barrels. The report was mostly in line with the analyst consensus and provided support to the oil market as it showed that the recent increase in the number of new coronavirus cases had no impact on demand for oil.

Today, oil traders will focus on EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report which is projected to show that crude inventories declined by 1.05 million barrels. If EIA report confirms API data, oil may get more support which will be bullish for oil-related stocks.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.