September S&P 500 futures (ESU23) are down -0.40%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU23) are down -0.42% this morning after three major U.S. benchmark indices ended the regular session lower as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting presented a hawkish outlook, while investors braced for a new round of economic data.
The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s June 13-14 meeting showed that almost all Federal Reserve policymakers “judged it appropriate or acceptable” to hold interest rates steady to allow further evaluation of the tightening cycle’s effects on the real economy. At the same time, nearly all officials supported further rate increases following a pause at the June meeting, expressing concerns about the robustness of the labor market and “unacceptably high” elevated inflation. “Almost all participants noted that in their economic projections that they judged that additional increases in the target federal funds rate during 2023 would be appropriate,” according to the FOMC minutes released Wednesday.
