US Stock Futures Up As Investors Await Fed Decision

US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 47 points to 12,996.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 4.80 points to 1,379.40. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 12 points to 2,648.50.

US stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.49% to 13,008.68, the S&P 500 index falling 0.43% to 1,379.32 and the Nasdaq 100 index dipping 0.21% to 2,939.52.

Automatic Data Processing will release its employment report for July at 8:15 a.m. ET. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing gauge for July will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The Fed is scheduled to announce its policy decision at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $5.58 on revenue of $1.88 billion. Booz Allen Hamilton Holding (NYSE: BAH) is expected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.42 on revenue of $1.45 billion. Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.58 per share on revenue of $6.95 billion.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE: DTG) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $1.24 on revenue of $408.29 million. Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.05 per share on revenue of $1.63 billion. Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) is expected to post its Q2 EPS at $1.00 on revenue of $2.86 billion.

Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.64 on revenue of $1.50 billion. El Paso Electric Co (NYSE: EE) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $0.71 on revenue of $243.32 million. Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.60 on revenue of $2.96 billion. Avon Products (NYSE: AVP) is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $2.66 billion.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) reported a narrower-than-expected fiscal first-quarter adjusted loss.

Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) reported wider-than-expected loss for its fiscal first quarter.

Allstate (NYSE: ALL) posted a profit in its second quarter.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.29%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.20%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.55% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.08%.

Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.61%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.94% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.16%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.12% and India's Sensex rose 0.12%.

Nymex crude-oil futures gained $0.10 to $88.16 in electronic trading on Wednesday, while gold futures rose $4.40 to $1,614.90 an ounce.

The dollar index (DXY) fell 0.11% to 82.61. The euro rose 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.2303.

The US dollar gained 0.04% versus the Japanese yen to trade at ¥78.15.

BY Lisa Levin