LONDON--U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday, as investors
awaited a policy statement from the Federal Reserve and looked
toward economic data, including the ADP jobs report and inflation
figures. Earnings from General Motors Co. and Facebook Inc. were
also on tap.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 54 points,
or 0.4%, to 15,670, while those for the S&P 500 index picked up
4.90 points, or 0.3%, to 1,772.30. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index
added 15.25 points, or 0.5%, to 3,399.25.
The advances built on gains seen on Tuesday, when both the Dow
industrials and S&P 500 index set record closing highs.
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee is likely to
dominate market attention, when it wraps up its two-day policy
meeting. A statement is expected at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, but
analysts forecast no changes to interest rates or the central
bank's $85-billion-a-month asset-purchases program, given the
government shutdown earlier in the month and recent downbeat
economic data. Instead, market participants will be looking to see
if it will say anything to cement expectations that the first
tapering will come in 2014. Read: What to look for in the Fed
monetary-policy statement.
"We, like the markets, expect the Fed's message to be one of
taper delay with data still too soft and government shutdown
impacting Q4. We are, however, prepared for some form of
expectations management, especially with U.S. bourses trading
all-time highs. Maybe suggestions of Q1 2014, reining in some of
the recent market exuberance based on hopes (similar to ours) of a
delay until Q2?" Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo
Markets, said in a note ahead of the market open.
Economic data are also among highlights on Wednesday, with the
ADP employment report due at 8:15 a.m. EDT. Wall Street will
monitor the numbers for signs of how much the government shutdown
hurt the labor market in October. Economists forecast that private
companies added 150,000 jobs in October, down from 166,000 in
September, according to a MarketWatch survey.
At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the consumer-price index is out, expected to
have risen in September because of higher rents and auto prices.
Economists forecast 0.2% increases in both the overall index and
the so-called core rate that excludes food and energy.
In the corporate sector, shares of Yelp Inc. slid 9% ahead of
the open after the business-search-service firm late Tuesday
reported a wider third-quarter loss and announced a new sale of
stock.
LinkedIn Corp. dropped 3.3% premarket after the company on
Tuesday said it swung to a loss in the third quarter.
More companies are slated to release earnings on Wednesday.
General Motors is projected to report third-quarter earnings of 94
cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.
Investors are expected to primarily focus on comments about the
car maker's capital-allocation strategy and latest update on
operations in Europe, James Albertine, an analyst at Stifel
Nicolaus, said in a recent report.
Facebook is likely to post earnings of 19 cents a share in the
third quarter, while Starbucks Corp. is expected to post fiscal
fourth-quarter earnings of 59 cents a share.
In other financial markets, metals prices rose across the board,
but oil prices slipped. The dollar moved lower. Both Asian and
European stock markets were on the rise.
Write to Sara Sjolin at AskNewswires@dowjones.com
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