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* Futures: Dow, S&P and Nasdaq about flat
By Shivani Kumaresan
April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little
changed on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead
of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting that could
offer clues on the central bank's views on inflation and an
economic recovery.
Massive fiscal stimulus and swift vaccinations prompted
several Fed officials at the meeting last month to project
interest rate increases as early as next year, opening up a gap
with those who do not see rates rising until 2024 at the
earliest. "The minutes could help explain how the Fed plans to
communicate future policy decisions and shed light on how some
policymakers could change their view on monetary policy if
inflation and growth does accelerate as expected this summer,"
said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com in
London.
The minutes will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
A strong payrolls report for March, which helped the S&P 500
hit its fourth consecutive record high on Tuesday, is only a
small step towards the central bank's threshold for considering
tapering its massive support for the economy.
At 6:43 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 20 points, or
0.06%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 2.25 points, or 0.06% and
Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 6 points, or 0.04%.
Shares of cruise operators Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH.N ,
Carnival Corp CCL.N and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N
gained between 1.9% and 3% in premarket trading.