Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final interest rate decision of the year, against a background of ongoing uncertainty over progress in trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Dow futures were down 36 points, or 0.1% by 6:59 AM ET (10:59 GMT), S&P 500 futures were flat and Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up 0.1%.
The Fed is expected to hold steady at the conclusion of its meeting, with its statement due at 2 PM ET (1700 GMT) and Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference set to start thirty minutes later.
The Fed, which cut rates three times this year in order to protect the U.S. economy from the effects of a global downturn, is expected to reiterate that it expects rates to remain on hold at current levels well into 2020, barring any marked downturn in the economy.
Ahead of the Fed decision, the U.S. is set to release consumer inflation figures for November at 8:30 AM ET.
Investor sentiment also remained subdued amid mixed messages about the likelihood of a fresh round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports coming into effect on Sunday.
Various reports suggested that the U.S. is considering delaying the move, which would avert the most market-negative scenario in the short term but still leave the possibility hanging over markets in the longer term.
However, White House economic advisor Lawrence Kudlow told Bloomberg on Tuesday that the tariff increase is “still on the table”.
On the earnings front, American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) and Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) are due to report later Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, edged up to 97.5, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury was last trading at 1.82%.
In commodities, gold futures were up 0.2% at $1,471.45 a troy ounce, while crude oil slid 37 cents to $58.87 a barrel.
--Reuters contributed to this report