Fed focus; Google and the EU; Trouble in Germany

1. Fed decision: The Federal Reserve will announce its latest interest rates decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, with Chair Jerome Powell's press conference following at 2:30 p.m. No rate hike is expected, so the hot topic will be whether the central bank will announce changes to its balance sheet.

Where U.S. stocks are heading Dow Futures   Nasdaq Futures   S&P Futures +11.00   +2.75   +0.75 +0.04%   +0.04%   +0.03%

World Markets Japan   China   U.K. Nikkei 225   Shanghai Composite   FTSE 100 +42.07   -0.33   -3.59 21,608.92   3,090.64   7,320.41 +0.20%   -0.01%   -0.05%

Biggest Winners Advanced Micro Devices Inc +1.62%   Linde PLC +1.52%   TechnipFMC PLC +0.99%   ResMed Inc +0.82% Biggest Losers FedEx Corp -6.48%   Monster Beverage Corp -2.30%   Newell Brands Inc -1.07%   Freeport-McMoRan Inc -0.79%

News: What you need to know about the markets     Fed focus; Google and the EU; Trouble in Germany By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Business   1. Fed decision: The Federal Reserve will announce its latest interest rates decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, with Chair Jerome Powell's press conference following at 2:30 p.m.   No rate hike is expected, so the hot topic will be whether the central bank will announce changes to its balance sheet.   In 2017, the Fed decided the US economy was healthy enough for the central bank to start selling off assets it gobbled up to stimulate recovery after the Great Recession.   Critics say the Fed's decision to shrink its balance sheet has contributed to economic turbulence. The Fed has signaled it may stop or slow the offloading of $4 trillion worth of assets.   2. Google vs. Europe: Europe's top competition official, Margrethe Vestager, is holding a press conference at 6:30 a.m. ET. Media reports suggest she might announce another antitrust fine against Google.   The European Commission has been investigating the Google advertising service AdSense for years.   The regulator said in 2016 that its preliminary view was that Google was abusing its position by restricting competitors from entering the online advertising market.   Google has already been fined €6.7 billion ($7.6 billion) in two previous EU antitrust cases.   The Commission ordered the company to pay €4.34 billion ($4.9 billion) in July 2018 for unfairly pushing its apps on smartphone users and thwarting competitors.   In 2017, it imposed a €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) fine on Google for using its search engine to steer consumers to its own shopping platform.   Watch CNN Business' live digital show 'Markets Now' today at 12:45 p.m. ET   3. German trouble: Germany's Dax was almost 1% lower as two of its key constituents suffered losses.   Shares in BMW slumped 2.7% after the German carmaker issued a profit warning for 2019.   Bayer, the owner of Monsanto, plunged over 8% after a jury found that Roundup, the world's most widely used herbicide, was likely responsible for a California man's cancer.   The landmark case could lead to thousands of similar lawsuits.   "We are disappointed with the jury's initial decision, but we continue to believe firmly that the science confirms glyphosate-based herbicides do not cause cancer," said Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018.   4. Brexit looms: The pound dropped 0.4% to trade at $1.32 as UK politicians struggled to find a way forward on Brexit with only nine days to go before the March 29 deadline.   Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to request an extension to Article 50 — the legal process for Britain leaving the the bloc — after parliament rejected her divorce deal twice by substantial margins.   However, May will not request a long delay from European leaders when she travels to Brussels on Thursday, a source from her office told CNN on Wednesday.   If an extension is agreed, the United Kingdom will avoid crashing out of the European Union without a deal on March 29, an outcome that would be devastating for business.   5. Global market overview: US stock futures were pointing higher.   European markets opened mostly lower, while stocks in Asia finished mixed.   The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.1% on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq was up 0.1%. The S&P 500 was flat.   Before the Bell newsletter: Key market news. In your inbox. Subscribe now!   6. Earnings and economics: General Mills will release earnings before the open. Meanwh Guess? and Williams-Sonoma will follow after the close.   Shares in Xiaomi dropped more than 4% after the company released disappointing earnings.

Coming this week:     Wednesday — General Mills earnings; crude oil inventories; Federal Reserve interest rate decision Thursday — Earnings from Darden Restaurants, Tencent and Nike; Levi Strauss IPO expected; Bank of England's rate decision Friday — Tiffany & Co earnings; February home sales data

Key Market Stats Latest Today's Change Oil $59.00 -0.29 / -0.49% Gold $1,302.90 -3.60 / -0.28% 10-yr 2.61% +0.01 Euro $1.14 -0.00 / -0.01%

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