US Stock Futures Edge Lower; Fed Decision In Focus

US stock futures traded lower in early pre-market trade. The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 11 points to 16,925.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 3.70 points to 1,976.40. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 11.50 points to 4,082.50.

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.25%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.38%. German DAX 30 index climbed 0.78%, French CAC 40 Index rose 0.32% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.75%. French consumer confidence remained unchanged at 85 in October versus September. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 1.46%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.27%, China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.50% and India's Sensex rose 0.81%.

Analysts at Sterne Agee downgraded Whirlpool

from Buy to Neutral.. Whirlpool's shares gained 6.77% to close at $168.06 yesterday.