MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Poised To Slide As Fed Signals Full Steam Ahead On Ending Easy Money

Analyst: Yellen and colleagues have a 'slightly more hawkish tone'

U.S. stock futures on Thursday pointed to a drop at the open, after the Federal Reserve took a more hawkish tone than expected, as it sounded determined about normalizing monetary policy.

S&P 500 futures fell by 13.05 points, or 0.5%, to 2,422.25, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gave up 77 points, or 0.4%, to 21,250.00.

Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 were under particular pressure, dropping by 69.75 points, or 1.2%, to 5,663.00. Technology stocks have seen heavy selling since last Friday, in the wake of big gains that have led to worries they've become too pricey.

On Wednesday afternoon, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen and her colleagues raised a key U.S. interest rate (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-raises-rates-and-sets-plan-to-shrink-balance-sheet-this-year-2017-06-14) and laid out a plan to shrink the central bank's massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet starting this year. The pair of moves reflect the Fed's view that a U.S. economic expansion now entering its ninth year no longer needs as much propping up.

Read:Inflation is right around the corner, Yellen insists (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/inflation-is-right-around-the-corner-yellen-insists-2017-06-14)

The rate hike was fully expected, but "what wasn't expected was the slightly more hawkish tone to the Fed statement," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index, in a note on Thursday.

"The Fed didn't mention anything about the delay to Washington's expected fiscal stimulus, which suggests that the Fed seems happy to push ahead with monetary policy normalization regardless of what the Trump administration is doing."

See:Yellen says she's 'sympathetic' to Trump's deregulation plan (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yellen-says-shes-sympathetic-to-trumps-deregulation-plan-2017-06-14)

On Wednesday in the wake of the Fed's moves, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both ended modestly lower, while the Dow finished with gains, scoring a fresh record close (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-inch-higher-as-traders-wait-for-feds-signals-2017-06-14).

Other markets:Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-hover-near-7-month-as-alarm-bells-go-off-over-us-supply-2017-06-15) remained under pressure following sharp declines in the prior session, weighed down by data showing that the market remains awash in surplus oil. European stocks lost ground, while Asian markets closed with losses (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asia-pacific-markets-slide-after-fed-rate-hike-2017-06-14). A key dollar index traded higher, as gold futures slumped.

Individual movers: Shares in Kroger Co.(KR) are likely to see active trading, as the supermarket operator is among the companies due to post earnings before the open. See the Kroger earnings preview (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kroger-earnings-walmart-aldi-and-lidl-arent-a-problem-but-same-store-sales-are-2017-06-14).

Economic news: Four notable economic releases are slated to hit at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. These cover weekly jobless claims, May import prices, New York's June manufacturing activity and the Philadelphia area's June business conditions. Economists polled by MarketWatch anticipate a headline number of 244,000 for the jobless claims report.

Check out:

A May reading on industrial production is due at 9:15 a.m. Eastern, with 0.1% growth expected, followed at 10 a.m. by a June figure for a home builders' index.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 15, 2017 05:22 ET (09:22 GMT)