5 things to know before the stock market opens on Wednesday September 22

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis investors need to start their trading day:

Dow futures rose 200 points as investors waited for clues from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon as to when it could start cutting back its massive Covid-era bond purchases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 looked set to end a three-day losing streak on Tuesday afternoon, but closed lower. The Nasdaq was able to close higher, ending a two-game losing streak. For the month, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are down 4%, just over 3.7% and nearly 3.4%, respectively. Monday’s plunge on Wall Street worries the Fed, Chinese real estate group Evergrande and the fight against Washington’s debt ceiling accelerated September’s fall.

The Fed concludes its two-day meeting in September on Wednesday by releasing its latest policy statement as well as its quarterly economic and interest rate forecast at 2 p.m. ET. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to brief the media 30 minutes later. The central bank is expected to broadly indicate that it is preparing to announce a timetable to cut its $ 120 billion in monthly treasury bill and mortgage-backed securities purchases. No change in rates close to zero is expected. Powell said the increase in borrowing costs would be considered separately from the reduction.

Struggling China Evergrande agreed to settle interest on a domestic bond on Wednesday, as China’s central bank pumped liquidity into the banking system, easing fears of looming financial contagion from the indebted property developer. Evergrande’s debt problems are unlikely to have the same consequences as the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, analysts say. When it comes to the magnitude of the potential impact on international markets, analysts point out a major difference between the Evergrande crisis and the Lehman collapse: Evergrande owns land, while Lehman held financial assets.

The House passed a bill to prevent a federal government shutdown and suspend the debt limit in a step toward preventing possible economic calamity. Tuesday’s vote was 220-211, with all Democrats supporting it and all Republicans opposing it. As the measure heads to the Senate, Republicans threaten to block it, which could leave Democrats scrambling to find another way forward. Congress must adopt a fundraising plan by September 30 to prevent a shutdown. The United States will also exhaust all options to continue paying its bills sometime in October, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told congressional leaders.

The American company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced on Wednesday that they would provide an additional 500 million doses of their Covid vaccine to the United States government, which in turn will donate them to low-income countries. The move expands the existing agreement between the companies and the United States to provide additional doses of the vaccine at a non-profit price to less advantaged countries. It also brings the total number of doses to be donated to these countries to 1 billion. President Joe Biden is expected to hold a virtual summit with world leaders on vaccines on Wednesday.

The FDA could make a formal decision on Pfizer’s boosters before the CDC begins a two-day third-dose meeting on Wednesday. An FDA advisory committee voted unanimously on Friday to approve the recalls for medically vulnerable people and anyone 65 years of age or older.

– Reuters contributed to this report. Follow all the market action like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest pandemic news with CNBC’s coronavirus coverage.