Investing.com – U.S. futures pointed to a mostly flat trading day on Wednesday as investors wait for an interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve this afternoon.
The S&P 500 futures was flat as of 6:47 AM ET (11:47 GMT) while Dow futures increased 11 points or 0.04% Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up seven points or 0.12%.
The Federal Open Market Committee will announce whether or not it will raise interest rates at 2:00 PM ET (19:00 GMT), with many expecting the central bank rates one last time this year. Investors will also be listening closely for any indication of potential rate hikes in 2018.
Bank stocks were some of the biggest gainers in pre-market trading. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) PLC ADR (NYSE:HSBC) rose 1.60% while Barclays (LON:BARC) PLC ADR (NYSE:BCS) increased 1.13%. Meanwhile Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) inched forward 0.13% and chipmaker Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ:FNSR) surged 13.32% after Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced it would invest $390 million in the firm.
Elsewhere shares in IT firm Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:HMNY) dropped 16.27% after the firm said it was selling stocks to raise money to increase its stake in ticketing service MoviePass. IP firm Marathon Patent Group Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) was down 1.55% while financial institution ING inched down 0.38%.
Meanwhile tax reform is also likely to be on investors minds, as well as a potential disruption in domestic politics after Democrat Doug Jones won the Senate election in Alabama. It’s the first time in 25 years that one of America’s most conservative states has elected a Democrat to the Senate.
Jones beating of scandal-ridden Republican Roy Moore puts the GOP Senate majority at risk, which could have drastic implications for future legislation.
Stocks in Europe were mixed. Germany’s DAX lost 23 points or 0.18% while in France the CAC 40 decreased 10 points or 0.19% and in London, the FTSE 100 was up two points or 0.03%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 fell three points or 0.10% while Spain’s IBEX 35 rose 22 points or 0.22%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.12% to $1,243.20 a troy ounce while crude oil futures rose 0.61% to $57.49 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, inched down 0.05% to 94.01.