Peter Nurse   

Investor.com: U.S. stock markets opened in a muted manner Wednesday as investors remained cautious before the highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting, which could see a more hawkish policy.

The contract traded at 7:01 AM ET (1200 GMT) and was up 10 point, or 0.1%. It dropped 15 points or 0.1% to the bottom, however, trading 2 points (or 0.1% higher), which is a difference of 0.1%.

Tuesday’s decline in the major averages was due to growth stocks underperforming, and more robust inflation data calling for a strong response by Fed.

Just over 100 points (or 0.3%) were lost on Tuesday by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. On the other hand, the closing price was 1.1% higher at 0.8%.

The November year-end gain was 9.6% 

Fed officials expect to announce an acceleration of the bond-buying cuts they made in November. It could clear the way for future interest rate rises in the next quarter.

The Fed makes its announcement at 2 PM ET (1900 GMT), followed 30 minutes later by Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference. Ahead of that, U.S. are seen rising by only 0.8% month-on-month in November, less than half of October’s 1.7% growth.

The Fed aside, investors will continue studying the news about the Omicron Omicron variation of the Covid-19 virus. Particularly after Wednesday’s World Health Organization statement that preliminary evidence indicated that vaccines might be less effective against transmission and infection linked to this new variant. Also, there is a greater chance of reinfection.

Oracle (NYSE:), a corporate giant, is expected to dominate the news after it announced that the U.S. tech company has created cloud regions in Stockholm, Milan and elsewhere. Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:), the SPAC which is merging with Donald Trump’s new media company, could see extra attention after Trump Media signed a partnership agreement with Canadian-based Rumble.

Lennar REV Group (NYSE;) and ABM Industries are expected to all report earnings by the open.

On Wednesday, oil prices dropped for the third consecutive day due to concerns that the Omicron-driven increase in coronavirus case will lead to a decrease in demand next year. 

According to the International Energy Agency, Tuesday’s surge in Covid-19 case numbers will reduce global oil demand while crude production is expected to rise in particular the United States.

The bearish mood was heightened by data from the industry organization, showing that inventories declined by 815,000 barrels last week. This is less than the expected decline, and will be confirmed by the U.S. on Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil futures were 1.2% less at $69.86 per barrel by 7:01 AM ET. The contract was 1.1% lower at $72.88. Each contract has fallen by more than 3 percent this week.

Also, the price of gold fell 0.1% at $1,770.90/oz while it traded 0.1% higher to 1.1272.