September S&P 500 futures (ESU23) are up +0.22%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU23) are up +0.19% this morning as market participants digested the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting while watching for fresh indications of weakness in China.
The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 25-26 meeting revealed a split among Fed officials regarding the necessity for further interest rate hikes, as “some participants” voiced concerns about potential economic risks from excessive rate increases, while “most” policymakers continued to prioritize the battle against inflation. Also, during the policy outlook discussion, officials emphasized the significance of closely observing incoming economic data “to determine the extent of additional policy firming that may be appropriate to return inflation to 2% over time.” “Most participants continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy,” according to the FOMC minutes released Wednesday.
