Investing.com - U.S. stock markets pointed to a higher open on Wednesday morning, after the Bank of Japan announced new monetary policy measures and as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's meeting later in the session.
The blue-chip Dow futures climbed 76 points, or 0.42%, by 6:50AM ET (10:50GMT), the S&P 500 futures tacked on 9 points, or 0.42%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 26 points, or 0.53%.
Market sentiment improved after the Bank of Japan kept rates unchanged at -0.1% following its latest meeting and announced that it would modify its policy framework, marking the latest attempt to boost inflation.
Among the changes, the BOJ said it would introduce yield curve controls, eliminate the maturity range of its bond purchases and abandon its monetary base targets.
The Nikkei closed 1.9% higher following the announcement, while the 10-year Japanese government bond yield briefly rose into positive territory for the first time since March.
The yen, meanwhile, recovered from session lows, with investors skeptical about whether the latest BOJ measures will be enough to generate inflation. USD/JPY was at 101.40, down 0.3%. The pair rose by more than 1% to a session high of 102.78 immediately after the BOJ's rate decision.
Attention now shifts to the Fed's decision. The U.S. central bank is not expected to take action on interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting at 2:00PM ET (18:00GMT) on Wednesday.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen is to hold what will be a closely-watched press conference 30 minutes after the release of the Fed's statement, as investors look for any hints on a December rate increase.
Markets are currently pricing in just a 15% chance of a rate hike at today's meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool. For December, odds stood at around 60%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, was at 95.90 early Wednesday after rising to 96.29 earlier, a level not seen since August 9.
Meanwhile, oil prices were sharply higher as traders awaited fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products.
U.S. crude was up 97 cents, or 2.2%, to $45.02 a barrel during morning hours in New York, while Brent rose 94 cents, or 2.05%, to $46.82.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 10:30AM ET (14:30GMT). After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. oil inventories fell by a whopping 7.5 million barrels in the week ended September 16.
In earnings news, shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) jumped 3% in pre-market trade after the shipping giant released better than expected quarterly results after Tuesday's closing bell.
Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) rallied 5% after the software company reported quarterly earnings of 75 cents per share late Tuesday, beating expectations of 72 cents per share.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares rose more than 1% after the tech giant raised its quarterly dividend by 8% on Tuesday and said it would buy back up to $40 billion as part of a new share repurchase program.
Companies posting earnings on Wednesday include General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and CarMax (NYSE:KMX), which are both due ahead of the opening bell. Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) and Red Hat (NYSE:RHT) report after the close.
Elsewhere, European and U.K. stock markets were broadly higher in mid-morning trade Wednesday, bolstered by rises in financial shares, following the Bank of Japan's overhaul of its policy and as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's announcement.