A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Surge; All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The current account report for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while existing home sales report for November is schedule for release 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 Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 217 points to 23,826.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 22 points to 2,560.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index jumped 58 points to 6,542.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.41 percent to trade at $56.49 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.39 percent to trade at $46.42 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.44 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.64 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.96 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.62 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.60 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.20 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.05 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.21 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Baker Hughes A GE Co BHGE from Neutral to Outperform.

Baker Hughes shares fell 1.85 percent to close at $21.22 on Tuesday.

Breaking News

• General Mills, Inc. GIS reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Avrobio Inc AVRO disclosed that it has received Orphan Drug designation for its AVR RD 01 for the treatment of fabry disease.
• Winnebago Industries, Inc. WGO reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter.
• Jabil Inc JBL reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and issued strong second-quarter sales guidance.