© Reuters. Investing.com -- All eyes are on the Federal Reserve, with policymakers gearing up to announce a fresh interest rate decision and release its closely-watched quarterly "dot plot." Fed Chair Jerome Powell will also hold a much-anticipated news conference in which he is widely tipped to push back against hopes for possible rate cuts early next year. Elsewhere, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) releases viewership figures across its catalog, in a response to criticism in Hollywood over its perceived lack of transparency over how its titles are consumed.
1. Futures point higher
U.S. stock futures edged higher on Wednesday, as investors awaited an upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision and comments from the central bank's chair Jerome Powell.
By 05:00 ET (10:00 GMT), the Dow futures contract had gained 55 points or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures had inched up by 7 points or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had gained 28 points or 0.2%.
The main indices on Wall Street surged in the prior session, with traders digesting the implications of November U.S. inflation figures. The benchmark S&P 500 jumped by 0.5% to its highest close in nearly two years, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.7% and the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.5%.
Price growth in the world's largest economy unexpectedly accelerated slightly on a monthly basis in November, but slowed as anticipated annually thanks in large part to a fall in energy prices. The core reading -- a closely-watched gauge of longer-term inflation that strips out volatile items like food and energy -- sped up marginally month-on-month and matched the same pace registered in October year-on-year.
Although the numbers indicated that the U.S. is on a disinflationary path, price gains remained stubbornly above the Fed's stated 2% target. The relative stickiness of the data seemed to bolster the case for policymakers to keep interest rates at more than two-decade highs for a longer period of time, instead of moving to slash borrowing costs in early 2024.
But markets mostly maintained bets that the Fed may cut rates as soon as next spring in the wake of the inflation report, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
2. Fed decision ahead
Attention now turns to the Fed, which is due to wrap up its final two-day policy meeting of the year on Wednesday.
Traders are almost certain that officials will vote to leave interest rates steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.50% for a third straight gathering, meaning that much of the spotlight will shine on statements from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Much of the conversation in the build-up to the event has swirled around how much Powell and his fellow members on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee will push back against the narrative that they will soon move to slash borrowing costs. Powell has previously stressed that any decisions will be taken "carefully," particularly as the Fed tries to assess if its recent campaign of aggressive policy tightening has worked to cool inflation.
The Fed could also use the publication of its quarterly "dot plot," a rough outline of officials' rate expectations, to temper hopes for a possible 25-basis point reduction sometime in the first two quarters of 2024. Some Fed members have suggested that they are starting to ponder whether policy is now sufficiently restrictive to quell inflation, while others have argued that several more months of easing price growth may be needed before a cut is justified.
The dot plot, along with Powell's press conference, may help markets get a better sense of how the Fed sees rates evolving heading into the new year.
3. Netflix releases viewership figures for almost all titles
Netflix has unveiled viewership numbers across nearly all of its catalog, shedding light on what has been a closely-guarded set of data tracking what users watch on the popular streaming platform.
The report, which covered 18,000 titles over a six-month period, found that season one of the action-thriller series "The Night Agent" garnered the most viewings. "The Mother," which starred Jennifer Lopez, was Netflix's top movie from January to June of 2023.
In a statement, the company said it would now publish its "What We Watched" report twice a year.
According to media reports, Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos also acknowledged that its "lack of transparency" had fostered an "environment of mistrust" in Hollywood. Transparency had been a core issue during an extended strike by actors and writers earlier this year, with these groups calling for greater royalties in line with how their shows performed on streaming services.
"This is a big step forward for Netflix and our industry," the firm said. "We believe the viewing information [...] will give creators and our industry deeper insights into our audiences, and what resonates with them."
4. SpaceX value soars to $180 billion in tender offer - Bloomberg
Elon Musk's SpaceX will sell insider shares at $97 apiece in a tender offer, according to a Bloomberg News report, in a move that would give the rocket company a value closer to $180 billion.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said that SpaceX was previously discussing a tender offer in the range of $500 million to $750 million at roughly $95 per share.
SpaceX is reportedly currently valued at $150B, making it one of the world's most valuable private companies. The heightened valuation reflects solid investor demand for a stake in the California-based business which has become a major player in the commercial space industry, Bloomberg added.
The report noted that the terms and size of the tender could still change. SpaceX did not immediately respond to request for comment from either Bloomberg or Reuters.
5. Oil muted as Fed announcement looms
Oil prices inched lower on Wednesday, but hovered only just under the flatline, as concerns swirled around oversupply and demand growth prior to the conclusion of the latest Fed meeting.
By 05:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.1% lower at $68.52 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.2% to $73.13 per barrel. Both benchmarks dropped more than 3% on Tuesday to six-month lows.
The U.S. inflation readings may have boosted the argument for the Fed to keep interest rates elevated for longer, a prospect that could weigh on demand in the world's largest fuel consumer.
Meanwhile, data from the industry body American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. oil inventories fell by a bigger-than-expected margin in the week to Dec. 8. But the potential draw comes on the heels of several consecutive weeks of strong builds.
Official inventory data from the Energy Information Administration is due later in the day.
