Market Snapshot: U.S. stock futures hold steady as investors wait for Fed decision

What’s driving the market?

All three major benchmarks logged record closing highs for a third straight trading session, the first time that has happened since December 2019. Resilient corporate results have done much of the heavy lifting for stocks recently.

Investors will turn their focus to the outcome of a two-day Fed meeting, where Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues are expected to confirm the start of a reduction in bond purchases. The announcement is due at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by a news conference with Powell at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.

“The QE [quantitative easing] taper announcement will likely be seamless, what may be less seamless is the rate discussion. Now that the major central banks are shifting toward a more hawkish policy stance, except for Japan and the European Central Bank (ECB), there is a rising pressure on the Fed to start thinking about ‘thinking about’ raising rates,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, in a note to clients.

Investors will also get a report on October private-sector payrolls from ADP at 8:15 a.m. Eastern, followed by the final Markit services purchasing managers index at 9:45 a.m., and the Institute for Supply Management’s services index for October and September factory orders, both at 10 a.m.

Elsewhere, the Caixin China services purchasing managers index showed robust growth was maintained in October, as the index hit its highest level since July.

On the corporate front, health insurer Humana
HUM,
-0.52%,
hotel chain Marriott International
MAR,
-1.09%
and media group Discovery
DISCA,
+0.53%
are expected to report results ahead of the open. Those reporting after the close include online marketplace Etsy
ETSY,
-1.23%,
videogame maker Electronic Arts
EA,
-1.13%
and semiconductor group Qualcomm
QCOM,
+0.31%.

What companies are in focus?

• Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond
  BBBY,
  +9.62%
  climbed 86% in premarket trading after the retailer late Tuesday announced a partnership with grocery chain Kroger
  KR,
  +0.62%.
  The popular meme stock also said it was ahead of its share buyback schedule.

• Shares of Activision Blizzard
  ATVI,
  -2.12%
  tumbled 11% in premarket after the videogame publisher’s lighter-than-expected outlook and expected delay of two games overshadowed an earnings beat.

• Lyft
  LYFT,
  -2.33%
  shares surged 11% after the ride-share company posted a 73% annual rise in revenue.

How are other assets trading?

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note 
  TMUBMUSD10Y,
  1.527%
  fell 2 basis points to 1.529%. Yields and debt prices move in opposite directions.

• Oil futures pulled back, with the U.S. benchmark 
  CL00,
  -1.87%
  dropping 1.8% to $82.38 a barrel. Oil extended losses from Tuesday’s regular session after the American Petroleum Institute reported a 3.6 million barrel-rise in U.S. supplies for the week ended Oct. 29, according to sources. Gold futures 
  GC00,
  -0.39%
  fell 0.3% to $1,783.20 an ounce.