Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, as markets were waiting for the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy statement later in the day, amid growing expectations for the U.S. central bank to hold its stimulus program this year.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.28% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.23% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.46% increase.
The Fed was not expected to announce any change to its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program on Wednesday.
Many investors instead expect the Fed to maintain its stimulus program well into the first quarter of next year, in order to safeguard the fragile U.S. economic recovery in the wake of this month’s 16-day government shutdown.
Financial stocks were expected to be active, after JPMorgan Chase's proposed terms to settle state and federal probes of the bank’s mortgage-bond sales were rejected by the Department of Justice this week.
Among earnings, Chrysler Group said third-quarter profit rose 22%, thanks to higher demand for Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicles and Ram pickups.
LinkedIn Corp. plummeted 2.30% after saying its quarterly sales outlook missed analysts’ estimates.
Elsewhere, Lockheed Martin Corp. was likely to be in focus after the Pentagon said the company's F-35 fighter is likely to be ready for expanded production in fiscal 2015.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Starbucks and Comcast, scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.44%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.54%, Germany's DAX rose 0.36%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.45%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.23%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the ADP report on nonfarm payrolls and official data on consumer price inflation.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.28% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.23% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.46% increase.
The Fed was not expected to announce any change to its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program on Wednesday.
Many investors instead expect the Fed to maintain its stimulus program well into the first quarter of next year, in order to safeguard the fragile U.S. economic recovery in the wake of this month’s 16-day government shutdown.
Financial stocks were expected to be active, after JPMorgan Chase's proposed terms to settle state and federal probes of the bank’s mortgage-bond sales were rejected by the Department of Justice this week.
Among earnings, Chrysler Group said third-quarter profit rose 22%, thanks to higher demand for Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicles and Ram pickups.
LinkedIn Corp. plummeted 2.30% after saying its quarterly sales outlook missed analysts’ estimates.
Elsewhere, Lockheed Martin Corp. was likely to be in focus after the Pentagon said the company's F-35 fighter is likely to be ready for expanded production in fiscal 2015.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Starbucks and Comcast, scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.44%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.54%, Germany's DAX rose 0.36%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.45%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.23%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the ADP report on nonfarm payrolls and official data on consumer price inflation.