Can you spare a minute of your time this afternoon for the release of the minutes of last month’s Federal Reserve meeting? It will likely be time well spent — especially if you’re wondering what Fed members were saying behind closed doors at the June 17-18 meeting about when they’ll start to hike short-term interest rates.
The minutes will be released at 2 p.m. ET. Ahead of the open on Wall Street, stock futures were pointing to a slightly higher open, after two days of losses. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 0.1% in pre-market trading.
The timing of interest rate increases is a hot topic on Wall Street, as low rates have been a major propellant of stock prices since the bull market began in March 2009. The start of the next Fed “tightening” cycle is viewed by many investors as an eventual headwind for a market that, many skeptics say, has become addicted to the Fed’s easy-money policies.
“Wall Street will be looking for clues to a timeline for when the Fed could potentially raise interest rates,”
Since the Fed’s last meeting, which included a dovish, or market-friendly, rate outlook from Fed Chair Janet Yellen, financial markets have been reacting to a June jobs report that was a lot stronger than anticipated. The 288,000 new jobs, well above the 215,000 economists’ forecast, and the drop in the unemployment rate to 6.1%, has intensified the rate-hike debate.
After the strong jobs report, a number of Wall Street firms have revised their forecasts for the Fed’s first rate hike, pushing the initial increase forward to the first quarter of 2015, sooner than the prior midyear 2015 prediction. Markets will be seeking clues signaling a sooner-rather-than-later Fed hike. “We will be looking for any signs of a more hawkish tilt.
Ty Laffoon
Business Development Manager
Prime Mortgage Loans
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