US equity futures posted gains before Tuesday's opening bell as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's decision on monetary policy.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.3%, S&P 500 futures increased 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.6%.
The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to start its two-day meeting on Tuesday, which will be followed by a monetary policy statement at 2 pm ET on Wednesday.
Oil prices were little changed, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 0.03% to $72.61 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.1% at $69.12 per barrel.
The monthly retail sales report, released at 8:30 am ET, showed a 0.1% uptick in August following a 1.1% jump in July, compared with estimates compiled by Bloomberg for a 0.2% drop.
Industrial production, slated for 9:15 am ET, is expected to edge 0.2% higher in August versus July's 0.6% drop.
Business inventories, due at 10 am ET, are expected to rise 0.3% in July to match June's increase. Forecasters see the housing market index coming at 41 in September after August's 39 print.
In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.4% higher, while the Chinese market was closed for holiday. UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.6% and Germany's DAX index increased 0.7% in Europe's early afternoon session.
In equities, shares of Intel (INTC) were 4% higher pre-bell on the chipmaker's plan to form Intel Foundry as an independent business unit and on its expanded partnership with Amazon's (AMZN) cloud computing unit to produce custom artificial intelligence chips. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares rose 3.8% after BofA Securities lifted its rating on the company's stock to buy from neutral.
On the losing side, Netcapital (NCPL) shares slumped 27% after the company reported a wider fiscal Q1 loss on lower revenue. Dermata Therapeutics (DRMA) shares were down more than 13% after the company priced a $3.5 million private placement of common shares and warrants.
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