Gold prices add to record high amid fiscal, tariff concerns
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* Futures point to strong open for tech-related stocks
* Retail sales drop more than expected in Feb
* Industrial production data at 9:15 a.m. ET
* Futures: Dow down 0.08%, S&P up 0.06%, Nasdaq up 0.48%
(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Shashank Nayar
March 16 (Reuters) - Futures pointed to a muted open for the
S&P 500 and the Dow on Tuesday as investors remained on the
sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting
against the backdrop of rising borrowing costs.
Nasdaq futures NQcv1 rose about 0.5% by 8:37 a.m. ET,
pointing to an extension of a rebound in technology stocks that
were at the heart of February's selloff. The Nasdaq 100 is still
about 5% below its Feb. 12 record closing high.
The Dow notched its sixth consecutive all-time high on
Monday on optimism over a $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package
and as several airlines indicated leisure travel was picking up,
bolstering views that the economy was on a path to recovery.
Scores of stimulus, improving economic data and mass
vaccinations have stoked inflation worries, pushing up yields
and upending equity markets in February. Yields on the benchmark
U.S. 10-year Treasury US10YT=RR slipped for the second
straight session on Tuesday to 1.59% from a 13-month high.
"Investors are holding back on trades ahead of the Fed meet
while the focus continues to be on longer-end Treasuries as the
market factors in the possibility of the 10-year yield hitting
2%," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota
Wealth in New York.
Fears about an overheating economy and a jump-forward in
interest rate have increased scrutiny on the Fed meeting, where
policymakers are likely to raise economic forecasts and repeat
their pledge to remain accommodative for the foreseeable future.
Investors have slightly increased their cash allocation,
deeming that inflation and 'taper tantrums' could topple the
record rally in financial markets, BofA's March fund manager
survey showed on Tuesday. Futures were little changed after data showed retail sales
dropped more than expected in February due to bitterly cold
weather across the country. Industrial production numbers for
last month are also due before the opening bell. Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 27 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500
E-minis EScv1 were up 2.5 points, or 0.06% and Nasdaq 100
E-minis NQcv1 were up 62.5 points, or 0.48%.
Mega-cap stocks including Facebook Inc FB.O , Apple Inc
AAPL.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Netflix Inc NFLX.O ,
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O and Microsoft MSFT.O rose between 0.4%
and 1% in early trade.
Ford Motor Co F.N dropped about 1.4% after announcing a $2
billion convertible debt deal.