NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures fell on Wednesday as uncertainty over how soon the Federal Reserve will begin to scale back its stimulus efforts curbed investors’ appetite for risky assets.
Investors digested a stream of divergent remarks by several Fed officials recently which compounded the uncertainty over the outlook for the central bank’s easy-money policies. The Fed’s stimulative bond purchases have helped prop up the U.S. economy and equity market for much of the year.
A number of Fed speakers are also scheduled to speak Wednesday, including Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Sandra Pianalto at 8:45 a.m. EST (1345 GMT). Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak at a town hall meeting with educators in Washington at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Investors will likely refrain from making big bets ahead of the Senate confirmation hearings on Thursday with Janet Yellen, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to chair the Federal Reserve.
Some market participants speculate that the Fed could begin to scale back stimulus as early as December, after the Labor Department said Friday the U.S. economy created 204,000 jobs in October.
In macroeconomic news, a 10-year Treasury note auction is scheduled for later Wednesday, while the U.S. Treasury will release a monthly account of the surplus or deficit at 2:00 p.m. EST.
S&P 500 futures fell 4.8 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 38 points and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 9.5 points.
Shares of Potbelly Corp (PBPB.O ) jumped 11 percent in premarket trading, a day after the sandwich chain reported results that beat Wall Street expectations.
(Reporting by Angela Moon- Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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