US Stock Futures Flat; All Eyes On FOMC Decision

US stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade. The consumer price index for August and current-account data for the second quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The NAHB housing market index for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points to 17,057.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.30 points to 1,991.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 2.75 points to 4,055.50.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.88%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.59%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.47%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.71% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.14%. The UK unemployment rate declined to 6.2% in the three months to July, versus 6.4% in the three months to June. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 0.14%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.49% and India's BSE Sensex surged 0.52%.

Analysts at Piper Jaffray downgraded FactSet Research Systems

from Overweight to Neutral. The target price for FactSet Research has been lowered from $134 to $130. FactSet's shares closed at $126.76 yesterday.