U.S. stock futures edged higher Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Oct. 28 decision, as investors weighed whether the central bank would hold rates after its September increase.
At 5:17 a.m. EDT (9:17 UTC), Dow E-minis rose 70 points, or 0.14%. S&P 500 E-minis gained 3.75 points, or 0.05%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis added 2 points, or 0.01%, Reuters reported.
Oil readings also varied across Tuesday reports. The Associated Press put Brent crude at $109.82 a barrel and U.S. crude at $100.93, each down 0.8%, in an earlier snapshot. Reuters later described crude as slightly higher after falling in the previous session, with Brent near its highest level since late April. The reports reflect different points in the session.
On Monday, the S&P 500 gained 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8%. The Associated Press described the rally as led by AI-related shares and said investors were watching whether AI spending would produce returns. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.1% at 3,692.58 at China’s midday break, the AP reported.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed’s rate-setting body, is meeting Oct. 27-28. It raised its federal funds target range by 0.25 percentage point on Sept. 16, to 3.75% to 4.00%. Reuters and the AP reported that investors broadly expected rates to remain unchanged this week; the decision was still pending.
“While we don’t expect a rate move this week, we wouldn’t be against a hike even though we’re not convinced of its urgency,” John Velis, BNY’s head of Americas Strategy, told Reuters. The committee’s meeting is scheduled to conclude Wednesday, Oct. 28.
