Update: US Equity Futures Edge Slightly Higher Pre-Bell Ahead of Fed Decision Under New Chair
(Updates with economic data, recent oil price movement, world markets' overview and corporate stock movements.)US equity futures were slightly higher pre-bell Wednesday as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's rate decision, the first under new chairman Kevin Warsh.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.1% lower, S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.5% higher.The Fed will deliver its latest policy decision at 2 p.m., and Warsh will hold his first press conference at 2:30 p.m. Markets expect the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%.Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX), known as SpaceX, continued its post-IPO rally for the third straight day after its record-setting initial public offering on Friday, gaining 2.2% in pre-market activity.President Donald Trump said at the G7 conference that the proposed US-Iran memorandum of understanding, set to be formalized in Geneva on Friday, is "not final" and warned that the US will "go right back to dropping bombs" if he doesn't like the deal.Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.9% at $79.69 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.8% higher at $76.66 per barrel.US retail sales rose by 0.9% in May, above the expected figure of 0.6% in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following the previous month's 0.4% gain.Pending home sales for May, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, are expected to be up 0.9% after a gain of 1.4% in the prior month. The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations survey for June is also expected at 10 am ET.In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.7% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.7% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.4% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.1%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.2% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.In equities, Intel (INTC) shares rose 3.7% after a CNBC report that the company has begun risk production of its most advanced chip node, 18A-P, bringing the company closer to a potential deal to manufacture chips for Apple (AAPL). Applied Materials (AMAT) stock was up 4.3% after the company and EssilorLuxottica said they have struck a long-term joint development agreement to advance augmented reality optics platforms for smart glasses. CarMax (KMX) shares were up 1.8% after the company reported fiscal Q1 net income and net sales that surpassed analysts' consensus.On the losing side, BHP (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) shares were down 0.9% and 2.5%, respectively, after a Bloomberg report that the two companies see India as the next major growth engine for global steelmaking, expected to help offset slowing growth in China.
