Wall Street analyst warns this is a tipping point in the Tesla story
Investing.com-- U.S. stock futures fell on Wednesday evening after a Bloomberg report stated that senior officials were preparing for a potential strike on Iran in the coming days.
Major stock indexes closed largely flat on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and warned of higher inflation.
U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday and will return to regular trading on Friday.
S&P 500 Futures fell 0.4% to 6,012.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 0.5% to 21,837.75 points by 21:23 ET (01:23 GMT). Dow Jones Futures were trading 0.3% lower at 42,386.0 points.
US reportedly prepares for potential strike on Iran
Senior U.S. officials are preparing for a potential strike on Iran in the coming days, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The preparations signal that Washington may be positioning to directly engage in the Israel-Iran conflict, the report said.
While plans remain fluid, some officials pointed to the weekend as a possible window for action.
President Trump said Wednesday he has “ideas” but will decide at the last moment. He had said he may or may not strike Iran, and stated that Iran is eager to engage in talks.
An earlier Wall Street Journal report said that President Trump informed senior aides late Tuesday that he had approved plans for a strike on Iran but was pausing the action to see whether Tehran would step back from its nuclear ambitions.
Fed holds rate steady; Powell warns of higher inflation
In the regular trading session on Wednesday, the S&P 500 was largely unchanged, while the NASDAQ Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw marginal moves.
The Federal Reserve held its key policy rate steady at 4.25%–4.50% on Wednesday, maintaining expectations for two quarter-point rate cuts later this year.
Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that inflation in goods prices is likely to rise this summer as recently imposed tariffs by President Trump begin passing through the supply chain to consumers.
The Fed projected a slower pace of easing ahead, expecting rates to fall to 3.6% in 2026, up from prior forecasts of 3.4%. For 2027, it sees rates at 3.4%, revised up from 3.1%.
“The market is anticipating two 25bp rate cuts this year, most probably September and December, but, we think the September FOMC will come too soon for the Fed to be comfortable cutting rates,” analysts at ING said in a note.
“The statement was not overly dovish. It was more balanced than the market was letting on. Clearly there is an intention to cut rates down the line, but we knew that ahead of time. At the same time, the inflation projections are higher than before,” they added.