Wall Street indexes to extend losses for a third-straight session; tech stocks eyed

US equity indexes were set for a lower open on Tuesday pre-trading hours as the technology sector seemed to be ready for third-session losses, while investors kept an eye on fresh economic data and the Federal Reserve prepared to kick-off its two-day policy meeting.

In economic news, the producers price index for May is due for release as of 12:30 GMT, with market analysts pointing at a 0.1 percent increase and a 0.2 percent build for the core index.

Wall Street indexes settled in red territory on Monday, extending losses for the second day in a row as the tech giants continued to slip and weigh on market sentiment.

The Nasdaq composite was down by half a percent at the end of the session, with FANG shares all moving downwards. FANG stands for Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google’s mother company Alphabet. Amazon was also trending down yesterday.

Looking at ETFs, the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF extended losses and positioned itself below the 50-day moving average for the first time since April 2017. The tech sector has been one of the best performing sectors this year.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: -36.30 / -0.17% / 21235.67
• Standard & Poor’s 500: -2.38 / -0.10% / 2429.39
• Nasdaq Composite: -32.45 / -0.52% / 6175.46

Attention is also directed to the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, which begins today. The US regulator is widely expected to hike for a second time this year interest rates to a range between 1.00 and 1.25 percent. Probability for a rate move stands at 95.8 percent, according to Fed funds tracked by CME Group’s FedWatch program.

FOMC’s statement and economic projections will be publish at 18:00 GMT on Wednesday, along with the interest rate decision. The press conference is scheduled half an hour later. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is likely to provide some insights on the plans to descale the regulator’s massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year.