Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to small gains at the open on Wednesday morning, as investors awaited clarity on the Federal Reserve's future path for U.S. policy after a likely rate hike later in the day.
The blue-chip Dow futures inched up 26 points, or about 0.1%, by 6:45AM ET (1045GMT), the S&P 500 futures tacked on 2 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 10 points.
Wall Street gained on Tuesday, with the S&P 500, Dow and Russell 2000 setting record closing highs, as technology stocks bounced back.
With the U.S. central bank widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point to a range between 1.0%-1.25% at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting at 2:00PM ET (1800GMT), investors' focus will be on any fresh hints on the pace of further tightening in the months to come and next year.
Market players will also pay close attention to details of the Fed's plan to reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year when Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks shortly after the release of the Fed's statement.
Besides the Fed, the U.S. will publish May inflation figures at 8:30AM ET (1230GMT). Market analysts expect consumer prices to ease up 0.1%, while core inflation is forecast to increase 0.2%.
On a yearly base, core CPI is projected to climb 1.9%. The Fed usually tries to aim for 2% core inflation or less. Rising inflation would be a catalyst to push the U.S. central bank toward raising interest rates.
At the same time, the U.S. will also publish data on May retail sales, amid expectations for a gain of 0.1% last month, after rising 0.4% in April.
The median Fed policymaker forecast is for two more rate increases by year-end, after already raising its benchmark interest rate once this year, by a quarter percentage point in March.
But a recent run of disappointing U.S. economic data combined with growing uncertainty about the Trump administration's ability to pass tax and healthcare reforms sparked doubts over the Fed's ability to raise rates as much as it would like before the end of the year.
According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, conviction for a move beyond this week's widely expected rate hike has faded, with just 40% of market players expecting another rate increase later this year.
In other markets, European stocks gained ground, with tech shares still clawing back losses logged earlier in the week. Earlier, in Asia, markets ended mixed.
Elsewhere, oil prices slumped as investors looked ahead to the Energy Department's weekly supply report at 10:30AM ET (1430GMT).
U.S. crude was at $45.98 a barrel, down 48 cents, or around 1%, while Brent shed 38 cents to $48.34.