Investing.com – Wall Street was set to open higher on Wednesday as investors look ahead to the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting decision.
The S&P 500 futures rose over seven points or 0.25% to 2,831.50 as of 6:54 AM ET (11:54 GMT) while Dow futures increased 78 points or 0.30% to 26,133.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were up 16 points or 0.23% to 6,957.50.
The FOMC is not expected to change interest rates when it ends its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. It is the last time Janet Yellen will serve as chair of the central bank before being replaced by Fed Governor Jerome Powell. The majority of economists believe that the Fed will hike rates in March, followed by another hike in June, with a third move higher arriving in December.
Earnings season continues into Wednesday, with 82% of the 169 S&P 500 firms that have reported earnings beating profit estimates and 85% topping sales forecasts.
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) surged 8.26% in pre-market trading after the video game company increased its forward guidance, while Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) rose 2.953% after it’s earnings came in better than expected. Wearable technology firm Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) increased 3.85% and marketing firm Remark Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MARK) was up 5.72%.
Elsewhere telecommunications firm Nokia (HE:NOKIA) dipped 2.52% while Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)slipped 1.85% and Juniper Networks Inc (NYSE:JNPR) fell 9.78%.
Meanwhile, Boeing (NYSE:BA) and DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) are expected to report their financial results before the morning bell while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) and eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)report after the market close.
Investors are also looking ahead to jobs data released ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls. The ADP national employment report is released at 8:15 AM ET (13:15 GMT) with the employment cost index at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT), followed by pending home sales at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT).
In Europe stocks were mixed. Germany’s DAX rose 10 points or 0.08% while in France the CAC 40 increased six points or 0.12% and in London, the FTSE 100 was down 12 points or 0.16%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 lost three points or 0.09% while Spain’s IBEX 35 inched down one point or 0.01%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.51% to $1,342.20 a troy ounce while crude oil futures decreased 0.60% to $64.11 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.31% to 88.74.