5 things to know before the stock market opens Wednesday, Sept 22

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

Dow futures rose 200 points as investors await any hints Wednesday afternoon from the Federal Reserve about when it might start tapering its massive Covid-era bond purchases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 had looked poised to end a three-day losing streak Tuesday afternoon but closed lower. The Nasdaq was able to close higher, ending a two-session 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 about the Fed, embattled Chinese property group Evergrande, and Washington’s debt ceiling fight accelerated September’s slide.

The Fed concludes its two-day September meeting Wednesday, releasing its latest policy statement along with quarterly economic and interest rate forecasts at 2 p.m. ET. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to brief the media 30 minutes later. The central bank is widely expected to indicate that it’s getting ready to announce a timetable for paring back its $120 billion in monthly purchases of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities. No change in near-zero rates is expected. Powell has said that raising borrowing costs will be considered separately from tapering.

China’s embattled Evergrande agreed to settle interest payments on a domestic bond Wednesday, while the Chinese central bank injected cash into the banking system, easing fears of imminent financial contagion from the debt-laden property developer. Evergrande’s debt woes are not likely to cause the same fallout as the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, analysts said. When it comes to the scale of potential impact on international markets, analysts point to a major difference between the Evergrande crisis and the Lehman collapse: Evergrande holds land, while Lehman held financial assets.

The House passed a bill to prevent a federal government shutdown and suspend…