In premarket trading on Wednesday, US benchmark equity indexes experienced positive momentum as investors look forward to the Federal Reserve's policy decision on interest rates. The Standard & Poor's 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones Industrial Average each showed an increase of 0.3% before the market opened.
While Asian markets displayed mixed results, European exchanges leaned towards an upward trend. The Fed is scheduled to reveal its decision regarding interest rates at 2 pm ET, with Chair Jerome Powell expected to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm. The market largely anticipates a reduction of 25 basis points in the central bank's key interest rate, as indicated by the CME FedWatch tool. On Wednesday's economic agenda, the weekly mortgage applications report was announced at 7 am, succeeded by housing starts and permits data for November, along with the third-quarter current account deficit report, which was released at 8:30 am.
Additionally, the Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations report for this month is set to be disclosed at 10 am, while the weekly domestic petroleum inventories report will follow at 10:30 am. Shares of Heico (HEI.A) witnessed a drop of 5.2% in premarket trading due to the aerospace and electronics company's fiscal fourth-quarter sales falling short of Wall Street's expectations.
Conversely, Worthington Enterprises surged by 10% after reporting stronger-than-anticipated fiscal second-quarter results. General Mills, Jabil, Birkenstock, Toro, and ABM Industries are among the companies preparing to release their financial results before the market opens. Micron Technology and Lennar are scheduled to announce their earnings after hours. In premarket activity, bitcoin fell by 1.7% to $104,825, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased by 0.6% to $70.53 per barrel.
Additionally, yields on 10-year Treasuries rose by 2 basis points, reaching 4.41%, and gold prices edged up slightly by less than 0.1% to $2,663 per ounce..