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Morning Watchlist: All Eyes on the Fed
Rick Ducat, CMT
March 19, 2025
Futures are slightly higher this morning ahead of the Fed’s interest rate decision at 2PM ET. The Fed is widely expected not to move on rates, but the market is focused on Jerome Powell’s press conference afterwards and any hints of rate cuts this year. The White House also announced a “energy and infrastructure ceasefire” as the first step towards the end of the Russia/Ukraine war, which could have long-reaching implications from defense spending to crude oil and beyond.
Morning Movers
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are flat near the $67 mark.
Gold (/GC) – Gold is slightly higher after once again making an all-time high yesterday.
Bitcoin (/BTC) – The cryptocurrency is up around 2% and close to breaking the $84K level.
VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index is hanging around 21.
U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is slightly higher after its rapid decline over the last few weeks.
Biggest Premarket Movers
Symbol | Product | Mark % Change (as of 7 AM ET) |
|---|---|---|
TSLA | Tesla | +3.30% |
SMCI | Super Micro Computer | +1.45% |
MOS | Mosaic | +1.40% |
GIS | General Mills | -3.59% |
INTC | Intel | -2.43% |
GILD | Gilead Sciences | -1.71% |
Economic Data
Time | Event |
|---|---|
7:00AM ET | MBA Mortgage Applications |
10:00AM ET | Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations |
10:30AM ET | EIA Petroleum Status Report |
11:00AM ET | Treasury Buyback Announcement (Prelim) |
11:30AM ET | 4-Month Bill Auction |
2:00PM ET | FOMC Announcement |
2:30PM ET | Fed Chair Press Conference |
4:00PM ET | Treasury Intl. Capital |
Earnings
Premarket | Postmarket | Premarket Tomorrow | Postmarket Tomorrow |
|---|---|---|---|
GDS, GIS, KC, OLLI, SIG, TCEHY, WSM | FIVE, YY, WS | CAN, JBL, DRI, PDD, ACN, GAMB, LE, CAL, SCVL | FDX, LEN, MU, NKE, SCHL |
Upgrades/Downgrades
Cantor Fitzgerald upgrades Tesla (TSLA) to Overweight from Neutral
Compass Point upgrades Affirm (AFRM) to Buy from Neutral
Baird upgrades RTX (RTX) to Outperform from Neutral
TD Cowen downgrades BP (BP) to Hold from Buy
Daiwa downgrades XPeng (XPEV) to Hold from Buy
Citi downgrades Thor Industries (THO) to Neutral from Buy
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