Stocks set to rise as traders await Fed decision
U.S. stock index futures gained early Wednesday, ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision later in the day, when the central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates on hold.
By 5:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures advanced 185 points, or 0.77% to 24,230.5. S&P 500 futures were up 25.13 points, or 0.88% to 2,892.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 92.87 points, or 1.07% to 8,812.62.
Most analysts expect the Fed to say it will keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the current range of 0.0%-0.25% and reiterate its pledge to continue to take any necessary measures to support the coronavirus-stricken economy.
However, they expect Fed Chair Jerome Powell to provide more guidance regarding how long the central bank intends to keep rates at that range. The Fed will announce its decision at 2:00 p.m. ET and Powell will hold a news conference half an hour later.
Separately, the Commerce Department is set to release a report this morning showing a decline in U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) as the coronavirus pandemic caused mass layoffs and shutdowns in the first quarter of the year.
Boeing, Tesla, Facebook report today
On the earnings front, Boeing (NYSE: BA), Mastercard (NYSE: MA), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT) and Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) are scheduled to publish their quarterly earnings ahead of the opening bell.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) will announce after the market close.
Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) reported lower-than-expected first quarter earnings late Tuesday, but revenue came in higher than analysts anticipated. At the time of writing, Alphabet shares were up $98, or 8% to $1,331.20 apiece in today’s premarket trading session.
Crude prices stage rebound after API inventory report
Crude were trading higher this morning after weekly inventory figures published by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories rose less than anticipated last week.
At 5:20 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $14.16 a barrel, up $1.82, or 14.75%. International Brent crude futures gained 80 cents, or 3.52% to $23.54 a barrel.
According to the report, crude stockpiles increased by 10 million barrels to 510 million barrels in the week ending April 24. Analysts had forecast a build of 10.6 million barrels.
Traders are also awaiting a similar report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) at 10:30 a.m. ET.
