US STOCKS-Futures slide as focus shifts to Fed decision
New York (Jan 29) U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday as investors shifted their focus from the Turkish central bank's bold interest-rate hike to the U.S. Federal Reserve's impending decision later in the day on its monthly bond-buying program.
* Global equity markets got a boost from Turkey's central bank which stunned investors with a dramatic rate hike designed to defend its crumbling currency. The move boosted investors' hope that a vicious cycle of selling in emerging markets may have been short-circuited.
* Market participants have turned their focus to the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting which ends today, the outcome of which will be announced at 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT).
* S&P500 e-mini futures fell 3.3 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 31 points and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 6 points.
* A hectic day may be ahead, with the Fed expected to press on with cutting back its massive market-friendly stimulus, and the central bank of South Africa, another of the countries caught up in the recent developing market storm, also meeting.
* In earnings Boeing Inc shares rose 1.5 percent in premarket trading after the company reported a 26 percent increase in quarterly profit, helped by a rise in commercial aircraft deliveries.
* Dow Chemical Co shares rose 6.5 percent in premarket trading after raising its dividend 15 percent and expanding its share buyback program to $4.5 billion from $1.5 billion.
* Yahoo Inc shares fell more than 4 percent in premarket trading, a day after announcing a decline in its online ad prices again in the fourth quarter. Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant in which it owns a big stake, saw revenue growth decelerate from its recent rip-roaring pace.
* Facebook is scheduled to report results after market's close.
* U.S. stocks bounced back on Tuesday, breaking the S&P 500's three-day slide which was prompted by worries about the pace of Fed stimulus withdrawal and a flight of money out of the developing world.
