Fed Seen Pausing Later as PPI, Oil Get Early Focus

0:05Welcome to the Schwab Market Update Podcast, where we prepare you for each trading day with a recap of recent news and a look at what's ahead.

0:17I'm Keith Lansford, and here is Schwab's early look at the markets for Wednesday, March 18th. The Federal Reserve's rate decision and fresh inflation news await investors today, while market focus keeps being magnetized by activities thousands of miles away in the Middle East. There was no progress Tuesday getting the critical strait of Hormuz reopened, and Israel announced its strikes had killed two key leaders of Iran. These deaths could embolden Iran's hardline military leadership, the New York Times reported. Additionally, an oil tanker was hit by a projectile Tuesday in the UAE, reinforcing danger to shipping in the region.

0:58Iran also launched attacks against UAE energy and transport infrastructure, CNBC reported. This raises concerns about future production, not just product now trapped on ships. Crude oil and the S &P 500 continue to display a strong inverse correlation. Time is the enemy here, said Lizanne Saunders, chief investment strategist at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. The longer this drags out, the more acute the pain points become.

1:31Back home, the Fed's decision at 2 p.m. Eastern time isn't in question. Analysts widely expect the second straight rate pause, keeping the target range between 3.5 % and 3.75 % as policymakers warily watch sticky inflation data even amid slowing job gains. The Fed will likely focus on its inflation mandate given rising oil prices. However, potentially slower growth will put it in a tough position if rising inflation is accompanied by a higher unemployment rate, said Cooper Howard, head of fixed income research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. Any intrigue likely concerns the central bank's economic projections and its dot plot of future rates.

2:17The meeting could also offer clarity on Chairman Jerome Powell's plans, assuming his term ends on time in May. Don't expect much from the Fed meeting, but expect Powell will be asked about whether he's likely to stay on as governor when he leaves the chair post, Saunders said. As of late Tuesday, the CME FedWatch tool showed virtually no chance of a cut at today's Fed meeting and little chance of a cut before September. That's the first month where chances approach 50 percent. Today brings a new set of Fed economic projections and a look at the possible rate path, all released along with the Fed's decision.

2:57In the last dot plot of rates issued in December, Fed policymakers predicted a single rate cut this year. Any change there, either to no change or even a possible rise, would be notable today. So would any major changes to the Fed's projections for 2026 gross domestic product, or GDP, or inflation, both of which could ultimately be affected by the war? Oil might have to stay elevated for more than a single Fed meeting before policymakers start incorporating its impact into longer-term inflation expectations. The Fed's last projection was for a 2.4 percent annual rise in 2026 personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, prices, the central bank's favorite inflation metric.

3:41The last core PCE figure, which subtracts volatile food and energy prices, was 3.1 percent annually in January, up from 3 percent in December. That means PCE prices were moving the opposite direction of the Fed's 2 percent goal even before the war began. However, there have been some hopeful signs that housing costs may be slowing. At the same time, jobs growth fell by 92 ,000 in February, the government said. This puts the Fed in a pickle, having to choose between addressing rising prices and weak jobs growth. That's why today's Fed unemployment projection might get special attention. Last time out, the Fed pegged U.S.

4:222026 unemployment at 4.4 percent. One projection up sharply in December was U.S. GDP growth, which the Fed raised to 2.3 % in 2026 from its previous 1.8%. While there aren't any numbers yet for the current quarter, the recent drop in the government's estimate for fourth-quarter GDP to just 0.7 % doesn't bode too well. The European Central Bank, or ECB, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan, or BOJ, also meet this week, with all three expected to keep policy unchanged. Global central banks meet this week amid growing risk of stagflation, said Michelle Gibley, Director of International Equity Research and Strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.

5:09There is a nonlinear impact of energy supply disruption. Each day of disruption is multiple days before things return to normal. Most of the eight central banks that meet this week are on hold for now. The BOJ decision is late tonight, and the ECB comes tomorrow morning, U.S. time. Data to watch before the Fed decision includes today's February producer price index, or PPI, Though the report was compiled last month and won't reflect any war-related price impacts, it's been an interesting metric lately, showing signs of hotter costs even before oil spiked. PPI due at 8.30 a.m. ET is expected to rise 0.4 % for the core reading, excluding food and energy, down from January's surprising 0.8 % monthly gain.

6:00Wholesale prices sometimes can be a canary in the coal mine for consumer prices, indicating higher costs at the wholesale level that might eventually get passed along to customers. Another data point growing in importance is today's U.S. government crude oil inventories report due early afternoon. There was a 3.82 million barrel increase the prior week, though this time of year often sees winter inventory building end and spring demand jump. Inventories remain 2 % below the five-year average for this time of year. Meanwhile, demand is up. Over the past four weeks, the amount of motor gasoline products supplied averaged 8.8 million barrels a day, up by 0.8 percent from the same period last year.

6:46Jet fuel products supplied was up 7.3 percent compared with the same four-week period last year. These numbers are worth checking today for updates considering the war situation. Lululemon became the latest retailer to report Tuesday, and it initially drew back 2 % in post-market trading, despite beating consensus earnings expectations. Its guidance was below consensus, probably bringing pressure. Memory chip giant Micron reports after today's close. Shares have surged along with the rest of the memory segment this year amid booming data-centered demand and product shortages that raised prices.

7:26Investors might want to check what Micron has to say about the supply situation. Last time out, Micron easily beat analysts' quarterly expectations while forecasting quarterly revenue of$18.7 billion. It projected earnings per share of about$8.42 on an adjusted basis. Shares of Micron and other memory companies, including Western Digital, muscled their way to gains Tuesday ahead of Micron's report, though strength didn't pick up the entire chip market. NVIDIA, Intel, and Broadcom all finished in the red. NVIDIA's GTC conference hasn't changed things for a stock that has been stuck in the mud since last October, despite upbeat product announcements concerned centers on NVIDIA's sky-high margins and how they can be maintained amid growing competition.

8:19Tuesday saw markets stay resilient, though neither the S &P 500 index nor the NASDAQ 100 could maintain intraday highs, with crude oil rising nearly 3%. Tuesday's rally embraced 8 of 11 S &P 500 sectors following Monday's green-across-the-board session. Energy soared to the top of the scorecard Tuesday, followed by consumer discretionary, communication services, financials, and industrials. Cyclical stocks that perform well in a strong economy generally did well, though some of that could be predicated on hopes of a near-term end to the conflict. From a technical angle, major indexes continued to show resilience after flirting with or falling below key support late last week at 200-day moving averages.

9:05Those averages are 22 ,208 for the NASDAQ composite and 6 ,612 for the S &P 500 index. Neither is in a range of the respective 100-day moving averages, a level near 6 ,840 for the S &P 500 index. The 100-day average formed a long-term support area and now represents resistance. In individual trading Tuesday, Delta Airlines climbed more than 6 percent after saying it sees first-quarter revenue growth in the high single digits. Its previous guidance was for revenue to be up 5 to 7 percent. The airline sector as a whole got a Lyft Tuesday despite rising oil prices, as several airlines besides Delta also touted strong first-quarter travel demand, Briefing.com noted.

9:56Lyft added nearly 4 % after announcing it plans to make rides smarter and more efficient through Agentic AI and use NVIDIA AI to enhance its machine learning systems. Uber accelerated as well with 5 % gains, touting its own deal with NVIDIA to expand their autonomous vehicle partnership. And Eli Lilly dropped nearly 6 % after getting downgraded by HSBC to reduce from hold. The firm thinks expectations for obesity's total addressable market are elevated at over$150 billion. The market is likely to be$80 billion to$120 billion by 2032, and price competition is likely to be significant, the analyst told investors in a research note.

10:47The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 46.85 points Tuesday, or 0.10%, to 46 ,993.26. The S &P 500 index jumped 16.71 points, or 0.25%, to 6 ,716.09, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 105.35 points, or 0.47%, to 22 ,479.53. This has been the Schwab Market Update Podcast. To stay informed, visit www.schwab.com slash market update or follow us for free in your favorite podcasting app. And if you like what you've heard, please consider leaving us a rating or a review. It really helps new listeners find the show. Join us for another update tomorrow.

11:46For important disclosures, see the show notes and schwab.com slash market update podcast.