Stock Futures Slide as FOMC Meeting Kicks Off

Stock futures are pulling back on Tuesday, just one session after the major benchmarks notched a last-minute win. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is set to start its two-day policy meeting today, and Wall Street anticipates another 0.75 percentage point interest rate hike by tomorrow's conclusion. At last check, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are off by 193 points, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also firmly in the red. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Schaeffer's Senior V.P of Research Todd Salamone highlights expiration risks on Wall Street.
• Apparel name sees bearish options surge. 
• Plus, Ford issues earnings warning; and 2 analysts calls to watch.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.37 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 738,736 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.54, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.66.
2. Shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) are down 3.8% premarket, after the automaker warned its quarterly earnings would be dented by about $1 billion due to increased supplier costs and shortages of parts. Coming into today, F was already down 28.1% year-to-date.
3. Barclays downgraded Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) to "equal weight" from overweight." The broker says the blue-chip athletic footwear and apparel maker will continue to see volatility in China and decreased demand in North America and beyond. Ahead of the open, NKE was last seen down 2.4%, adding to its 35.7% year-to-date deficit.
4. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH), meanwhile, sports a 2.7% premarket lead, after Truist Financial upgraded the shares to "buy" from "hold." TH analyst cited decreasing cancellations and lower-priced rebookings in its bull note. Ahead of this price action, however, NCLH sported a 40.1% year-over-year loss.
5. Building permits and housing starts data are both due today.

Asian Markets Brush Off Japan's Inflation Reading

Asian markets were higher on Tuesday, despite Japan’s core inflation rising 2.8% year-over-year – its fastest jump since 2014. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) did not change its one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPR), as analysts had expected. Leading the gainers was Hong Kong’s Hang Seng with a 1.2% rise, while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.

European markets are lower as investors unpack a flurry of inflation news on the continent. There’s the rather surprising 100-basis point interest rate hike from Sweden’s Riksbank, as well as reports that German producer price inflation surged to 45.8% in August. At last check, France’s CAC 40 is down 0.9%, the German DAX is 0.7% lower, and London’s FTSE 100 is slightly below breakeven with a 0.09% loss.