Fed's Decision Not to Cut Rates Stains Futures Red

With no hint that the Fed is going to cut interest rates before its March 20 meeting, the markets are searching for some kind of direction. Yesterday, that lack of direction led the major indices into the downside, and this morning, early morning futures action was indicating that they were going to stay there -- at least at the opening.

The S&P 500 futures on Globex lately were down 9 to 1233, about 9 points below fair value as calculated by TheStreet.com. The thinly traded Nasdaq 100 futures were down 22 to 1892, or about 20 points below fair value, also as calculated by TSC.

Europe's major indices were lower at midsession thanks to tech stocks, with France's CAC-40 sliding 70, or 1.3%, to 5298; Germany's Xetra Dax falling 95, or 1.5%, to 6114; and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropping 33, or 0.6%, to 5885. ...