US stock futures decline amid fear of September stimulus tapering

U.S. stock-index futures retreated, signaling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will decline for a fifth consecutive day, amid speculation the Federal Reserve will reduce the pace of bond purchases next month.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September slipped 0.2% to 1,642.5 at 10:50 a.m. in London. The benchmark U.S. equity gauge has fallen for four consecutive days, its longest losing streak this year, as speculation mounted that the Fed will start to taper its quantitative-easing program. Future contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 23 points, or 0.2%, to 14,979.

“All eyes will be on the commentary from the FOMC minutes for some sort of guidance on QE tapering,” Nick Skiming, who helps manage about $10 billion at Ashburton Investments, said by telephone for Bloomberg. “The commentary from Fed officials hasn’t been backed up by action yet. Once we actually see evidence and actual movement, that would provide a clearer indication of what will happen with markets.”

The Fed will present the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting tomorrow. Investors will analyse the policy makers’ discussions for anything that may indicate when the central bank will reduce the pace of its $85 billion of monthly asset purchases.

U.S. central bankers meet in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week to discuss monetary policy. Officials will start to scale back bond buying next month, according to 65% of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, J.C. Penney gained 0.3% to $13.26 in German trading. Bass, the founder of Hayman Capital Management LP in Dallas, has accumulated a long position over the past two weeks by buying the retailer’s secured loans, said the person, who asked not to be named because the information is private. J.C. Penney sank 33% this year as an overhaul failed to attract new shoppers, while alienating existing customers. The company reports its quarterly results today.