Stock futures opened at a low on Thursday morning, following an underwhelming close on Wednesday evening after a selloff during the regular session. This comes after each of the three major U.S. indexes dropped by their largest margins in the last three months.
This poor performance occurred in light of the January monetary policy statement issued by the Federal Open Market Committee. This was focused on moderating economic growth following the devastating effects of the COVID pandemic.
In order to combat the COVID-stricken economy, the central bank remains committed to lowering interest rates and ensuring that asset purchases remain robust.
Tony Rodriguez, Nuveen head of fixed income, had this to say on the Federal Open Market Committee’s viewpoint: “It was a positive from the standpoint of reinforcing the dovishness of the Fed that they indicated that economic growth and activity is moderating.”
Investors are expected to receive further information on the current state of the economy on Thursday when the federal government is due to release its first estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), in addition to the latest weekly report on unemployment claims.
While the U.S. economy is still reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, GDP growth for a second straight quarter is expected.
