futures lower market waits for big ben

Stocks wait for Big Ben to strike
Futures drift lower as investors wait for Fed to speak; Yahoo outlook disappoints.
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See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close) January 30 2008: 4:21 AM EST


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LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures fell early Wednesday, as investors grew skittish ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's policy statement and worried about a weak outlook from Yahoo.

At 4:05 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were lower, suggesting a negative start for Wall Street, which has advanced for the past two sessions.

The recent rally has been driven by hopes that the Fed will cut interest rates by another half of a percentage point to 3 percent today. The Fed statement is due at 2:15 p.m. ET.

But investors are also nervous that the central bank may not slash rates so aggressively, especially given the three-quarters of a percentage point emergency rate cut it made the last week.

Those jitters sent overseas stocks lower. Asian markets finished in negative territory, and European stocks fell at the start of trading.

Also weighing on sentiment was Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500). The Internet giant reported fourth-quarter earnings late Tuesday that beat expectations, but CEO Jerry Yang warned that the company faces "headwinds" this year.

The Fed plays follow the leader