- US stocks wavered Wednesday ahead of the
Fed 's policy decision at the end of its two-day meeting. - Analysts expect the US central bank to accelerate the pace of
tapering its bond-buying program.
US stock futures struggled to find direction Wednesday, as investors waited to see whether red-hot
Futures on the $4 and $4 were about flat as of 5:40 a.m. ET, while the $4 fell 0.2%, suggesting a cautious start to trading later in the day.
"At their last meeting in November, the Fed announced they would start to taper their asset purchases, but there's strong anticipation that just six weeks later, they'll be accelerating that pace today," Deutsche Bank strategists said in a note.
Central bank policymakers will end their two-day policy meeting Wednesday and release a statement at 2 p.m. ET, followed by a briefing from Chair Jerome Powell 30 minutes later.
On Tuesday, official figures showed $4 in November, the fastest pace since records began in 2010, and up from 8.8% in October. Consumer price inflation $4, hitting its highest level in 39 years.
Those inflationary pressures are likely to put the Fed discussion into a more hawkish frame, according to Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG.
"Investors continue to expect higher prices to flow through the economy regardless of what the Fed does, but a shift towards rate hikes next year seems very much nailed on," he said.
At least two interest-rate rises in the next year seem likely, according to analysts.
Elsewhere, stocks in Europe traded in a wait-and-see mode ahead of Thursday's decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. The pan-continental $4 added 0.4%, while $4 gained 0.4%. But $4 fell 0.3%,
Data on Wednesday showed UK inflation jumped to a $4, from 4.2% in October. But most analysts expect the BoE to hold fire in its interest-rate decision.
"The Omicron situation appears to be worsening, and with more restrictions still a possibility before Christmas, or perhaps more likely into the new year, a move to increase interest rates even slightly this week would be a courageous decision at best," Beauchamp said.
The Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday the variant is spreading rapidly in the US and $4 as early as January. More than $4 since the start of the pandemic , according to new data from Johns Hopkins.
Asian markets underperformed after official Chinese data showed $4, while industrial production beat estimates.
The $4 fell 0.38%, and Hong Kong's $4 lost 0.9%. Tokyo's $4 closed down 0.1%.
Oil prices fell on worries that the spread of Omicron could disrupt demand. The International Energy Agency $4 down earlier this week, saying any recovery will be hurt by the surge in cases.
But the OPEC's monthly report released Monday showed it believes the impact of the virus on oil demand will be $4.
$4 fell 0.8% to $73.11 a barrel, and $4 lost 1% to reach $70.02 a barrel.
Read More: $4