Wall Street in the red on Monday: futures fall, markets await the Fed’s decision

Dow Jones futures contracts fell 65 points, or 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3% and S&P 500 futures 0.2% on Monday morning, as Barron’s reports.

Friday’s weak September jobs report almost took a rate hike by the Federal Reserve this month off the table. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are now pricing in an 82% chance that the Fed will keep the cost of borrowing unchanged at the 28 October meeting, from just 29% a week earlier.

“The rise in the unemployment rate and the slowing of wage growth may dictate the tone of financial markets in the coming weeks, as US labour market data are not adding to inflationary concerns,” Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, told Barron’s.

Bond yields remain a source of concern for investors, although Monday morning’s fall in the oil price helped lower the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond by 3 basis points, to 5.26%.

Wall Street now hopes that the new earnings season will give the stock rally a new catalyst, Barron’s writes.