A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up, All Eyes On Fed Decision

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Producer Price Index for May will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 28 points to 25,343.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.25 points to 2,792.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 19 points to 7,244.50.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures rose 0.04 percent to trade at $75.91 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.17 percent to trade at $66.25 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.10 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.29 percent and German DAX 30 index rising 0.14 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.44 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.28 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.38 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.22 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.97 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.13 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded KMG Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: KMG) from Overweight to Sector Weight.

KMG Chemicals shares rose 12.41 percent to close at $79.26 on Tuesday.

Breaking news

• Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ: ENPH) announced plans to acquire Sunpower’s Microinverter business for $25 million and 7.5 million shares of common stock.
• U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled against the Justice Department Tuesday to confirm that AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)'s $85 billion purchase of Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX) does not violate antitrust laws.
• H & R Block Inc (NYSE: HRB) reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.24 per share to $0.25 per share.
• Oxford Industries Inc (NYSE: OXM) reported downbeat results for its first quarter on Tuesday.