Stock futures rise slightly following two-day Fed sell-off

Stock futures rose Thursday as the market tried to recover from back-to-back losing sessions, while traders digested the Federal Reserve’s plans to tighten monetary policy.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.63%, and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.6%.

Shares of HP Inc surged 15% in the premarket after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a stake in the tech hardware maker.

The Fed on Wednesday released the minutes from its March meeting, which showed that officials planed to reduce their trillions in bond holdings with a consensus amount around $95 billion. Meanwhile, policymakers indicated that one or more 50 basis-point interest rate hikes could be warranted to battle surging inflation.

“The minutes from the latest FOMC meeting portray a higher level of urgency than previous communication as the Fed has circled on a commitment to run the balance sheet down faster than market participants may have expected,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management.

Officials “generally agreed” that a maximum of $60 billion in Treasurys and $35 billion in mortgage-backed securities would be allowed to roll off, phased in over three months and likely starting in May. 

The news sent the blue-chip Dow down more than 100 points Wednesday, while the S&P 500 slid 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped another 2.2%, bringing its week-to-date losses to 2.6%. Those losses came after comments from Fed Governor Lael Brainard pushed stock prices lower on Tuesday.

“It does seem like they are talking up the possibility of raising rates by 50 basis points at the next meeting so the hope is that message is well telegraphed in advance,” said Brian Price, head of investment management at Commonwealth Financial Network. “I expect that volatility will remain elevated for the time being as there is a lot of uncertainty for investors to digest right now.”   

Investors await the weekly jobless claims data Thursday morning, which is expected to show a total of 200,000 claims filed.

Investors also continue to monitor the Ukraine-Russia war, as Ukraine asks NATO for more weapons.

“Ukraine’s urgent needs, the sustainability of supplies, and long-term solutions which will help Ukraine to prevail,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet.

Crude prices ticked higher after falling in the previous session. U.S. oil gained 0.7% to $96.94 per barrel, while international Brent advanced 0.9% to $101.95.