Wall Street drifted modestly lower early today, the Associated Press reports, one day ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy announcement. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.2% lower before the bell.
The Fed’s meeting on interest rates begins today and wraps up on Wednesday, when it’s widely expected that the central bank will keep its main interest rate steady at its highest level since 2001; however, Fed officials will also give updated forecasts for where they see interest rates heading this year and in the long run. They earlier had penciled in three cuts to rates this year, which would relieve pressure on the economy and financial system.
In equities trading today, Unilever rose 3% after it announced it was spinning off its Ben & Jerry’s ice cream business and cutting 7,500 jobs.
Bitcoin slid again, losing another 8% as it fell to just above $63,000.
In other trading early this morning, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 8 cents to $82.08 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 7 cents to $86.82 per barrel.
