US Stock Futures Edge Higher; All Eyes On Fed

US stock futures rose in early pre-market trade, ahead of the policy decision from the Federal Reserve. Data on housing starts for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision and economic projections at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 13 points to 15,478.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.90 points to 1,700.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 9 points to 3,193.00.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.51%, London's FTSE 100 index rising 0.17% and STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.47%. German DAX 30 index gained 0.50% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.51%. Asian markets ended mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surged 1.35%, while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.29%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 dropped 0.28%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.27% and India's Sensex jumped 0.8%.

Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company

from “neutral” to “overweight.” The target price for Becton, Dickinson and Company has been raised from $91 to $117. Becton, Dickinson's shares closed at $100.80 yesterday.