As traders gear up for significant financial decisions, US equity futures have experienced noticeable gains ahead of Tuesday's opening bell. According to market reports, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures have gained 0.3%, while S&P 500 futures have risen by 0.4%. The Nasdaq futures have shown an even more optimistic outlook, increasing by 0.6%.
The anticipation is centered around the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, which is set to commence its two-day meeting on Tuesday. A monetary policy statement is expected to be released promptly at 2 pm ET on Wednesday. In parallel, the oil market appears relatively stable, with the global benchmark North Sea Brent crude witnessing a slight decrease of 0.03%, settling at $72.61 per barrel.
Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude saw a minor increase of 0.1%, bringing it to $69.12 per barrel. On the economic front, the monthly retail sales report, which was released at 8:30 am ET, indicated a modest increase of 0.1% in retail sales for August. This growth follows a robust 1.1% spike in July, as compared to Bloomberg's predictions, which anticipated a 0.2% decline.
Additionally, industrial production data, scheduled for release at 9:15 am ET, is projected to reflect a 0.2% increase for August, contrasting with July's decrease of 0.6%. The business inventories data, expected to be published at 10 am ET, is forecasted to rise by 0.3% in July, maintaining the momentum observed in June.
Market analysts are also keenly awaiting the housing market index, which is anticipated to show a reading of 41 in September, following a previous print of 39 in August. In global market movements, Japan's Nikkei index concluded the day down by 1%, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng index marked a gain of 1.4%.
The Chinese market was notably closed for a holiday during this period. In Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 experienced an increase of 0.6%, accompanied by Germany's DAX index rising by 0.7% in the early afternoon session. In the equities sector, shares of Intel have surged by 4% in pre-market trading, buoyed by the company's announcement to establish Intel Foundry as a standalone business unit, alongside an expanded collaboration with Amazon’s cloud computing division to create customized artificial intelligence chips.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's stock has also gained traction, rising by 3.8% after BofA Securities upgraded its rating from neutral to buy. However, not all stocks fared well in this environment. Netcapital shares plummeted by 27% following a report of a broader fiscal Q1 loss attributed to reduced revenue.
Additionally, shares of Dermata Therapeutics experienced a decline of over 13%, spurred by the company's announcement regarding a $3.5 million private placement of common shares and warrants..