Investors are waiting on new guidance from the Federal Reserve. Fed officials are set to conclude their two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. A statement will be released at 2pm ET and the market is looking for clues as to when, if ever, the Fed intends to put the breaks on its easy money policies.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures were up slightly amid strong earnings reports from major tech giants.
US mortgage applications rose 5.7%, driven by more refinancing activity which increased 9.3%. Purchase applications, however, declined by 1.6%. (Story continues below.)
Equities
U.S. stock futures were up in premarket trading, as investors assessed earnings from major tech companies.
| Level | Chg. | Chg. % | |
| DOW Futures | 34,989.00 | 25 | 0.07 |
| S&P 500 Futures | 4,400.50 | 6.25 | 0.14 |
| Nasdaq Futures | 15,010.25 | 63 | 0.42 |
U.S. Treasury yields rose ahead of the Federal Reserve rate decision. The dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies.
U.S. Dollar and Treasuries
| Price | Chg. | Chg. % | |
| U.S. Dollar Index (DXY): | 92.61 | +0.18 | +0.19% |
| US 1-MO | 0.041 | -0.002 |
| US 2-YR | 0.209 | +0.006 |
| US 5-YR | 0.725 | +0.015 |
| US 10-YR | 1.261 | +0.027 |
| US 30-YR | 1.917 | +0.028 |
Stocks To Watch
Chinese education tech firms New Oriental Education and TAL Education still traded in large volume after China announced a crackdown on the sector. The stocks stabilized after losing more than 70% of their value since the announcement.
Chinese ride-sharing firm Didi Global traded higher after dropping more than 30% on regulatory news. The company could face unprecedented penalties for ignoring warnings from the Chinese authorities about pursuing a U.S. IPO.
Infinity Pharmaceuticals rebounded in premarket trading after losing more than 30% during Tuesday’s regular trading hours. On Tuesday, the company reported a quarterly loss, as well as disappointing data from the breast and bladder cancer trials.
NanoVibronix, a medical device company, shipped its first order of PainShield Plus, a next-generation ultrasonic pain management device. The stocks spiked on the announcement.
Bit Digital, a New York-based bitcoin mining company, was up in premarket trading. The stock nearly doubled on Monday after the announced strategic collaboration with Digihost.
| Symbol | Price | Chg. | Chg. % | |
| New Oriental Education | EDU | $2.29 | +0.100 | +4.57% |
| Infinity | INFI | $2.09 | +0.570 | +37.50% |
| NanoVibronix Inc | NAOV | $1.66 | +0.1900 | +12.93% |
| Bit Digital Inc | BTBT | $7.75 | +1.860 | +31.58% |
| TAL Education | TAL | $6.17 | +0.66 | +11.98% |
| Didi Global | DIDI | $8.41 | +0.37 | +4.60% |
Commodities
Oil prices edged up as low inventories outweighed the concerns over the spread of the Delta variant on global demand. Gold weakened.
| Price | Chg. % | |
| WTI Crude Oil | 72.11 | 0.64% |
| Brent Crude Oil | 74.85 | 0.50% |
| Natural Gas | 3.98 | 0.84% |
| Gold | 1,798.40 | -0.08% |
| Corn | 547.5 | 0.23% |
Crypto
The global crypto market cap increased by 4.95% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin traded above $40,000 after a series of apparent corporate endorsements, including Amazon and Twitter.
| Symbol | Price | Chg. % | Cap | |
| Bitcoin | BTC | $ 40,311.87 | +7.08% | $ 756.62 billion |
| Ethereum | ETH | $ 2,310.67 | +2.77% | $ 269.09 billion |
| Tether USD | USDT | $ 1.00 | -0.01% | $ 62.03 billion |
| Cardano | ADA | $ 1.30 | +1.48% | $ 40.38 billion |
| Dogecoin | DOGE | $ 0.2099 | +2.94% | $ 27.41 billion |
| Polkadot | DOT | $ 14.52 | +3.75% | $ 15.90 billion |
