A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Up; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 76 points to 18,123.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 9 points to 2,140.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 24.75 points to 4,823.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 1.77 percent to trade at $46.69 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 1.91 percent to trade at $44.89 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 1.31 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1.03 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.21 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.35 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.35 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.91 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.59 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.10 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.06 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Wells Fargo & Co WFC from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $53.50 to $48.00.

Wells Fargo shares fell 0.43 percent to $46.36 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• General Mills, Inc. GIS reported better than expected adjusted earnings for the first quarter. The company also reaffirmed its full year forecast. To read the full news, click here.



• FedEx Corporation FDX reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Tuesday. To read the full news, click here.



• The Bank of Japan announced a shift in its monetary easing policy whereby it will buy as much or as little Japanese bonds as necessary to maintain a yield on 10-year bonds at zero. To read the full news, click here.



• Adobe Systems Incorporated ADBE posted better-than-expected results for its third quarter and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter. To read the full news, click here.