US pre-open: Futures higher ahead of Fed decision

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Wednesday as investors await the outcome of the Federal Reserve Bank's latest interest rate policy meeting. As of 1315 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.10%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.99% and 1.68% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 203.40 points higher on Tuesday as Q2 corporate earnings season began to pick up steam.

Wednesday's primary focus will be the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, due out at 1900 BST, with the central bank broadly expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady. However, market participants will be firmly focussed on chairman Jerome Powell's speech to gauge whether he offers any hints as to the future of interest rate policy.

Elsewhere on the macro front, mortgage applications fell 3.9% in the fourth week of July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the prior week's 2.2% drop to record the steepest weekly decline in almost two months. Applications to purchase a home fell by 1.5%, while those to refinance a mortgage tanked 7.2% week-on-week.

Still to come, ADP employment change figures were slated for release at 1330 BST, while July's Chicago PMI was due out at 1445 BST, and June pending home sales numbers will be on deck at 1500 BST.

In the corporate space, Advanced Micro Devices traded higher in pre-market after the chipmaker posted Q2 results that topped consensus estimates. AI-darling Nvidia also traded higher on AMD's earnings report.

Boeing shares flew higher on the back of its announcement that Robert Ortberg would take over as chief executive, while Humana shares headed south on the back of some weak guidance.

Carvana and Qualcomm will report earnings after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com