Stock futures were flat on Wednesday evening, as investors await the next market catalyst.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 ticked lower by 0.01%, while Nasdaq 100 futures inched down by 0.01%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 9 points or 0.03%.
In after-hours action, GameStop shares dropped roughly 19%. The video game retailer fired its CEO Matthew Furlong and appointed Ryan Cohen as its executive chairman. GameStop also posted an adjusted loss of 14 cents per share on revenue of $1.24 billion.
During the regular session Wednesday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite appeared to take a breather from their recent rally. The broad-market index closed 0.38% lower, while the Nasdaq dropped 1.29%. The 30-stock Dow was the outlier, with a gain of 0.27% or 91.74 points.
“We’re in a bit of a news vacuum: Earnings are done, the debt ceiling is resolved, and we’re waiting for the Fed next week,” said Barbara Doran, CEO of BD8 Capital Partners on “Closing Bell: Overtime” Wednesday. “It’s widely expected they will pause, but it’s really going to be important what their guidance is and what the [consumer price index] number on Tuesday will be and the [producer price index].”
Indeed, investors seem to be in a holding pattern while awaiting the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting on June 13 and 14. Economic signs suggest that inflation is inching down, even as it remains above the central bank’s 2% target. Wage growth, for instance, is slowing. Wages rose 5.3% on an annual basis in May, down 0.4 percentage point in April, according to data from Indeed. Markets are pricing about a 66% chance that the Fed keeps rates steady at the next meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
More economic data will arrive on Thursday morning, with weekly jobless claims and wholesale inventories due.
–CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
