US futures choppy amid caution over Covid, Fed

Bloomberg

US equity-index futures fluctuated between gains and losses, while the dollar halted a two-day rally, as investors assessed the outlook for economic recovery and awaited the latest Federal Reserve minutes to gauge the direction of monetary policy.
Contracts on the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.1% after the underlying gauge falls by the most in four weeks. The dollar halted a two-day rally and Treasury yields were steady. Oil rebounded from a four-day slump a US industry report pointed to a drop in domestic crude stockpiles. Viacom CBS climbed in premarket trading.
A sense of caution was visible in markets, with most assets posting small moves, amid the relentless spread of the delta virus variant, the prospect of reduced stimulus support and elevated inflation. While the Fed minutes may give some clues about the timeline for tapering stimulus, the next catalyst for markets may not come before the central bank’s
August 26-28 conference at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“The market remains cautious,” Mizuho International Plc strategists including Peter Chatwell wrote in a note. Unless Fed minutes “reveal something substantively different from recent source stories, the market is unlikely to react significantly, and choppy trading may continue.”
In a town hall meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell flagged that the pandemic is “still casting a shadow on economic activity” but didn’t discuss the outlook for monetary policy or specifics on growth and the risks from the delta variant.
European stocks were little changed as Covid-19 risks continued to hang heavy on the economic outlook. The British pound rose 0.1% against the US dollar after data showed UK inflation falls back to the Bank of England’s 2% goal in July.
Viacom CBS advanced 1.9% in premarket New York trading after Wells Fargo Securities raised the stock to overweight from equal weight, citing the media company’s success with streaming-video services.
West Texas Intermediate crude rises above $67 per barrel. The American Petroleum Institute’s report that inventories fell last week outweighed concern over the impact of the pandemic on demand.
Bitcoin advanced after two days of losses and traded around $45,500 apiece.
Futures on the S&P 500 fall 0.1% as of 6:10 am New York time and futures on the Nasdaq 100 were little changed.
While futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall 0.3%, the Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed and the MSCI World index was little changed.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed and the euro was little changed at $1.1714. While the British pound was little changed at $1.3751, the Japanese yen was little changed at 109.64 per dollar.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.26% and Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.49%. Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.55%
While West Texas Intermediate crude rises 0.6% to $67.01 a barrel, gold futures rises 0.1% to $1,789.80 an ounce.