United States stock futures edged higher on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST) as investors prepared for the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision and assessed the outlook under new Chair Kevin Warsh.
By 10:00 am AEST (12:00 am GMT), futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 were each up 0.1%.
The modest gains followed a mixed session on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to secure another record closing high. In contrast, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.2% as investors rotated away from technology stocks.
SpaceX continued to attract investor attention, advancing 4.8% during Tuesday's session. Shares in Elon Musk's aerospace and artificial intelligence company have surged almost 50% since debuting on the market at an initial public offering price of $135 per share.
The stock extended its rally in after-hours trading, rising a further 2%.
Market sentiment has remained supported by news that the United States and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement aimed at ending hostilities in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that the two nations had agreed to a framework designed to bring the conflict to a close, helping ease concerns over energy supplies and inflation pressures.
Attention is now turning to the conclusion of Wednesday's (Thursday AEST) meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which marks the first policy gathering chaired by Kevin Warsh since he took over leadership of the U.S. central bank.
Financial markets overwhelmingly expect policymakers to leave interest rates unchanged at a target range of 3.50% to 3.75%.
Investors will instead focus on the committee's economic projections and any clues regarding the future path of monetary policy.
However, as reported by CNBC, Wall Street economists and Federal Reserve observers do not expect Warsh to submit a personal interest-rate forecast, known as a "dot", in the central bank's quarterly Summary of Economic Projections.
As a result, market participants are likely to place greater emphasis on his post-meeting remarks for insight into the Fed's views on inflation, employment and economic growth.
Corporate earnings will also remain in focus, with used vehicle retailer CarMax and manufacturing services company Jabil scheduled to release quarterly results before Wednesday's opening bell.
On the economic calendar, investors will monitor May retail sales data and pending home sales figures for additional clues about the strength of consumer spending and the health of the housing market.
