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Fed Day: Key Levels to Watch

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Key Levels to Watch in the Wake of the Fed
  • Retail Sales Report Takeaways: Not as Bad as It Looked

Stock futures are little changed this morning following a mostly quiet night of news as global markets collectively look ahead to the Fed today.

Economically, Eurozone HICP (their CPI equivalent) met estimates of 0.2% in February which did not cause much movement in markets this morning.

Today, there is one economic report due to be released before the bell: Housing Starts and Permits (E: 1.579M, 1.725M) but the release is unlikely to materially move markets as investors are already largely focused on the Fed.

The FOMC Meeting Announcement and Economic Projections will hit at 2:00 p.m. ET and Chair Powell’s Press Conference will begin around 2:30 p.m. ET.

As discussed in yesterday’s full FOMC Preview, the market wants to see acknowledgment of the recent rise in yields and some degree of a pledge to act with new policies to combat that rise. If Powell fails to deliver such a confidence boost, expect a volatile market reaction across asset classes.