Stock market news live updates: December 14, 2022

U.S. stock futures hovered around the flatline ahead of the open Wednesday as investors face the Federal Reserve’s seventh and final interest rate increase of 2022.

The central bank is expected to deliver a half percentage point hike at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. The increase is set to bring its key federal funds rate to a new range of 4.25% to 4.5%, the highest level since December 2007.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) were just below breakeven. Contracts on the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) declined 0.1%. In other markets, U.S. Treasuries dipped after climbing on Wednesday, and the U.S. dollar index retreated. West Texas Crude Oil (WTI) futures rose 1% to trade above $76 per barrel.

Investors will assess remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powel at 2:30 p.m. ET in the aftermath of the rate announcement. Economic projections from policymakers and the latest dot plot showing each member’s forecast for the U.S. short-term interest rate will also serve as guidance to investors on the Federal Reserve’s path forward.

The decision will follow Wednesday’s closely-watched November Consumer Price Index (CPI), which rose at an annual 7.1% clip last month, the second consecutive downside surprise in inflation data. Stocks closed higher following the report, but Wall Street’s reaction was underwhelming, with uncertainty still ahead around how much further rates need to go to quell prices that remain persistently high.

While a downshift in inflation was welcome on Wednesday, equity markets pared much of the gains that came immediately following the print as traders thought, “what now?,” BMO Wealth Management’s Chief Investment Strategist Yung-Yu Ma said in an emailed note.

“The Fed is still going to focus on the labor market imbalance, a dovish pivot is still a long way off, and in the meantime, companies and consumers have to recalibrate to the impact of higher interest rates and a slowing economy,” Ma added. “It’s all a balancing act, which we believe points to…

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