Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow Jones Futures Decline As Trump Warns Iran Against Qatar Strikes

U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday following Wednesday’s declines. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower. Markets processed the Federal Reserve's widely anticipated decision to maintain interest rates at 3.50%–3.75% for a third consecutive meeting. The FOMC highlighted that despite solid economic expansion, inflation stays somewhat elevated and job growth remains sluggish. President Donald Trump warned Iran that continued strikes on Qatar’s LNG facilities would face major retaliation, while simultaneously signaling that Israel would cease targeting Iran’s vital South Pars gas field. Following talks with Trump and the Qatari Emir, French President Emmanuel Macron urged an immediate end to infrastructure attacks to protect civilians and stabilize global energy supplies. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.28%, and the two-year bond was at 3.80%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 95.9% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged later today. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.32% at $659.32, while the QQQ declined 0.49% to $592.00.