US equity futures posted narrow gains before Wednesday's opening bell as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.4%, S&P 500 futures increased 0.2% and Nasdaq futures were up 0.1%.
Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.7% at $73.73 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.9% higher at $70.25 per barrel.
US housing starts dropped to an 1.289 million annual rate in November from a 1.312 million rate in the prior month, compared with estimates compiled by Bloomberg for a jump to 1.34 million. Permits, on the other hand, rose to 1.505 million for the month from 1.419 million previously, compared with estimates for a smaller increase to 1.43 million.
The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to release a policy statement at 2 pm ET. Forecasters are expecting a 25-basis-point cut in the target band for the Federal Funds rate.
In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.7% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.8% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite ended 0.6% higher. Meanwhile, UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.1%, and German's DAX index increased 0.1%, Fance's CAC 40 gained 0.06% and Spain's IBEX 35 gained 0.3% in Europe's early afternoon session.
In equities, shares of AstraZeneca (AZN) were 1.9% lower pre-bell following a media report that the drugmaker's sales in China have been hurt following the arrest of its country president and other executives.
On the winning side, Jabil (JBL) shares rose nearly 11% after the company reported fiscal Q1 revenue that topped analysts' estimates.
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