Wall Street futures pointed moderately higher pre-bell Wednesday as traders weighed tech-sector earnings reports, and awaited the rate announcement from the Federal Reserve.
In the futures, the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Nasdaq added 0.5%, but the Dow Jones was off 0.2%.
The Fed will make its rate announcement at 2 pm ET in Washington, followed by Chair Kevin Warsh's 2:30 pm presentation.
The CME FedWatch tool estimates a 90.6% chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged.
In economic news, West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded up 1.4% to $101.31 a barrel, and 10-year US Treasuries offered 5.01%, in morning action.
The VanEck Semiconductor exchange traded fund (SMH), a proxy for the sector, traded up 1.4% pre-bell, after a 3% rise on Tuesday.
Mortgage applications rose by 3.4% in the week ended Oct. 23 as a further decline in 30-year fixed mortgage rates lifted both refinancing activity and new home applications, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday.
SK Hynix (SKHY) traded up 8% pre-bell after the South Korean semiconductor manufacturer reported record Q3 profits, and foresaw extended memory chip shortages.
Asian exchanges traded mostly higher overnight, while European bourses tracked moderately south midday on the continent.
Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) report earnings after-bell.
On the economic calendar, the international trade in goods bulletin, and the retail inventories and wholesale inventories reports, all for September, log at 8:30 am ET.
The weekly EIA petroleum status report posts at 10:30 am.
The Atlanta Fed Survey of Business Uncertainty for October posts at 11 am.
In premarket action, Bitcoin traded at $81,400, while spot gold commanded $4,046 an ounce.
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