Stock futures were little changed as investors prepared for the S&P 500 to test its June lows.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on September 06, 2022 in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago | Good pictures

U.S. equity futures were little changed on Sunday evening, as interest rates and foreign currency volatility pushed the major averages to their lowest levels of the year.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 22 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were moving just above the flat line.

Stocks ended a brutal week with the blue-chip Dow on Friday Finds a new intraday low for the year and finished 486 points short. The broader S&P 500 temporarily broke below its late-June low, falling 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.8%.

In trading in the final week of September, the Dow and S&P 500 were down 6% for the month, while the Nasdaq lost 8%. The Dow and S&P were up 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively, at their lowest levels since the summer. The Nasdaq is at its lowest level of 2.9%.

Investors are confident the Federal Reserve will continue its rate hike plan to help curb inflation. At the end of the FOMC meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed could raise rates as high as 4.6% before retreating. The forecast also shows the Fed plans to be aggressive this year, raising rates by 4.4% before the end of 2022.

“Many traders were expecting hints of a Fed pivot in Jackson Hole or September FOMC policy, but that never happened,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Onda. “A hard landing is becoming the baseline scenario for many, and with a very weak stock market comes more economic pain.”

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Bond dividends rose after the central bank enacted another rate hike of 75 basis points. The 2-year and 10-year Treasury rates hit their highest levels in a decade. Friday, Goldman Sachs It lowered its year-end target S&P 500 to 3,600 to 4,300.

“How far we go under summer is anyone’s guess,” said Onda’s Moya. “It doesn’t look like any economic data release or Fed speech will convince markets that a tapering off from this aggressive tightening campaign will happen anytime soon.”

Looking ahead, traders expect Friday’s release of data on personal consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. Durable goods and consumer sentiment numbers are also out this week.

Fed Vice President Lyle Brainard, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Federal Reserve Governor Michael Bowman — as well as Chair Powell — are scheduled to speak at various events this week.

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