All Eyes on Fed and 'Considerable Time'

All eyes are on today's FOMC statement at 2PM ET as the committee concludes a 2-day meeting. Markets widely expect the fed to drop the "considerable time" language on rates, although recent currency turmoil in Russia could come into the conversation.

Strategists at Nomura expect the December FOMC meeting to provide additional insight into the future path of monetary policy with another round of forecasts for the first time since September, which will incorporate significant new data. The drop in energy prices will likely lead to lower inflation forecasts and the Committee will likely have to lower its unemployment rate forecasts owing to the faster-than-expected declines in the unemployment rate, they said.

Moreover, they expect the FOMC to make changes to its forward guidance. Because of recent Fed speak and improved economic momentum, they now think it is more likely than not that the FOMC will drop the "considerable time" language in its policy statement. However, they expect it to replace this with some statement that suggests that rate hikes are not imminent.

U.S. stock futures are currently higher: Dow +73, Nasdaq +22, S&P +10.

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