Wall Street is set to open mixed on Monday, on the eve of the Fed's monetary policy meeting and as investors prepare to digest a new salvo of results.

Half an hour before opening, the Dow Jones futures contract was down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq futures contract gained 0.1%, heralding a mixed start to the session.

The Federal Reserve is due to begin a two-day policy meeting tomorrow, at the end of which a "status quo" on rates is widely expected.

Investors will nevertheless be paying close attention to any change in language in the central bank's statement, which could provide valuable clues as to the timing of its next monetary loosening.

The US central bank has made it clear that it plans to cut rates this year, but the question now is when, by how much and at what pace.

'All indications are that Powell will refrain from giving too much information this Wednesday, which will probably further delay the prospect of a rate cut', predicts Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM.

The Fed will want to make sure that disinflation is still on track before actually cutting rates", he adds, suggesting a first rate cut in May, at best.

"But that doesn't seem to be worrying the market too much at this stage", notes the analyst.

The Fed meeting comes during what promises to be another busy week in terms of corporate releases, including those of tech heavyweights Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta.

Given that these five stocks together account for over 24% of the S&P 500's total weighting, investors could start to pull back if the news isn't good, at a time when the Nasdaq is trading at record levels.

Microsoft's results in particular will be closely watched tomorrow after the close, as the software giant recently overtook Apple as the world's largest market capitalization, with a valuation of over $3,000 billion.

But several big names in industry such as Pfizer, GM, Boeing and ExxonMobil are also due to unveil their quarterly accounts in the coming days.

The week will also be marked by the publication on Friday of the official US employment report for January, a key statistic for the Fed which will come at a time when recent economic figures have surprised by their strength.

On the bond front, yields are easing somewhat at the start of this intense week, with ten-year paper back below my 4.10% mark.

On the currency markets, the dollar continues to rise against the euro, back to around 1.0820, while demand for safe-haven assets is growing, as illustrated by the strength of gold (+0.8%).

On the oil markets, crude oil prices are erasing Friday's gains, having recently been buoyed by China's stimulus measures. A barrel of Texas light crude (WTI) is currently down 0.9% at $77.3.

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