(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell for the third straight session on Wednesday, led by losses in rate-sensitive technology stocks on fears that rising inflation could force the U.S. Federal Reserve to pare back its support soon.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes touched a one-week high, driving down shares of Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc by about 1% premarket.
Tech and other growth stocks are sensitive to yields as their value rests heavily on earnings years into the future, which are discounted more deeply when expectations of interest rates hikes rise.
Investors will also focus on minutes from the Fed’s April policy meeting, where it stood pat on interest rates. The statement is due to be issued at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
“We will scan the minutes for more details on policymakers’ view, but bearing in mind that we got to hear from some of them after the more-than-expected surge in inflation last week, we will treat the minutes as outdated,” said Charalambos Pissouros,senior market analyst at JFD Group.
Strong inflation readings and signs of a worker shortage in recent weeks have fueled fears of inflation and roiled stock markets, despite reassurances from Fed officials that the rise in prices would be temporary.
Wall Street’s main indexes fell in a late session selloff on Tuesday as…
