New York : U.S. markets are flat ahead of a highly anticipated speech by the chair of the Federal Reserve that may give clues about future interest rate hikes.
On the last trading day of the month, futures for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 appeared static. Major U.S. indices are clinging to small gains in November, which if they hold, would be the second straight month of advances after a miserable September.
There is hope on Wall Street that the Fed will slow the scale and pace of its interest rate hikes and investors are closely watching the latest data on inflation, consumer spending and the employment market, reports AP.
They’ll be looking for any signs of a shift in policy when Powell speaks at the Brookings Institution about the outlook for the U.S. economy and the labor market on Wednesday.
The Fed’s benchmark rate currently stands at 3.75% to 4%, up from close to zero in March.
The U.S. government will be releasing several reports about the labor market this week.
A report about job openings and labor turnover for October will be released Wednesday, followed by a weekly unemployment claims report Thursday. The closely watched monthly report on the job market will be released on Friday.
