FOMC Minutes Preview
What’s in Today’s Report:
- FOMC Minutes Preview
- PPI Remains Hot (Chart)
- Empire State Manufacturing Index Takeaways
Stock futures are slightly lower while most global markets rallied overnight as traders continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and look ahead to the Fed minutes release.
Geopolitically, there were no major developments regarding Ukraine o/n but U.S. officials continue to warn that an invasion is possible at anytime, leaving markets on edge.
Economically, Chinese inflation data came in below estimates while U.K. PPI ran hot but neither release materially moved markets overnight.
Today is lining up to be a fairly busy day from a catalyst standpoint as there are several notable economic reports due out including: Retail Sales (E: 2.0%), Import & Export Prices (E: 1.3%, 0.7%), Industrial Production (E: 0.4%), and Housing Market Index (E: 83).
From there, focus will shift to a 20-Yr Treasury Bond auction at 1:00 p.m. ET and then likely the most important catalyst of the day, the FOMC Minutes will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The market has been very indecisive in recent sessions and that is likely to continue today, however, if the geopolitical backdrop remains largely calm, economic data is favorable, and the FOMC minutes are not interpreted as overly hawkish, we may finally see the market break back to test the February highs.
