Aug 19 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
WALL STREET SLIDES AS FED TIGHTENING FEARS FESTER (1005 ET/1405 GMT)
Wall Street's main indexes are lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq poised to snap four-week winning streaks, as investors gauged how much the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates when policymakers meet in September.
Nearly all 11 major S&P 500 sectors are in the red, with consumer discretionary and communication services among the weakest groups. Healthcare is just slightly green.
Growth shares are off 1.43% while value is down 0.8%. Dow transports, semiconductors and small caps are also all lower.
The yield on the U.S. 10-Year Treasury note is climbing toward 3% for the first time in four weeks, while the probability of the Fed hiking rates by 50 basis points in September remained the most likely FOMC outcome according to the market, but chances fell to 55.5%. The gap on the inverted 2-year and 10-year yield curve narrowed further.
Investors are waiting for the next big catalyst, something that will change the dynamic in the markets, says Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
Skepticism abounds about a recovery that is built on some disinflationary signs combined with a healthy serving of hope.
"Now the data needs to deliver," he said. "Perhaps we're seeing signs of exhaustion which some may argue is long overdue."
The monthly options expiry may provide clues as to where the market is headed, especially after the market's strong bounce off the June lows.
The focus will be on how new contracts see the possibility of the Fed continuing its aggressive campaign to curtail inflation, said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.
Below is a snapshot of early market prices:
(Herbert Lash)
S&P 500 INDEX: WEEKLY WINNING STREAK IN JEOPARDY (0900 EDT/1300 GMT)
CME e-mini S&P 500 futures are tumbling in premarket trade. With this, the S&P 500 index is poised to open lower and put it on track to end a four-week winning streak.
The S&P 500 last rose five weeks in a row in a streak ending in November 2021.
Friday's weakness comes after Federal Reserve officials said the U.S. central bank needs to keep raising interest rates to rein in inflation, while deliberating on how fast and how high to lift them.
In what was one of the quietest sessions so far this year on Thursday, in terms of total volume across U.S. exchanges, the benchmark index ended at 4,283.74, which put it up just 3.59 points, or 0.084%, for the week.
However, with equity index futures on the back foot on this options expiration Friday, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rising to a four-week high and bitcoin suffering its biggest percentage slide since mid-June, the SPX is poised to open down by nearly 1%.
SPX weakness comes in the wake of the index flirting with its 200-day moving average, and the resistance line from its early January record intraday high on Tuesday:
Traders will now be watching to see if several Fibonacci retracement levels of the January-to-June slide and the March 2020-January 2022 advance, in the 4,227.75/4,198.70 area, will now act as support.
(Terence Gabriel)
FOR FRIDAY'S LIVE MARKETS' POSTS PRIOR TO 0900 EDT/1300 GMT - CLICK HERE:
(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)