Updated from 7:09 a.m. EDT.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are 10 things you should know for Tuesday, March 17:

1. -- U.S. stock futures were sinking Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting and after a big day in the markets Monday. It is St. Patrick's Day.

European stocks were mixed Tuesday, ceding some of yesterday's strong gains ahead of the Fed's FOMC meeting. Consumer prices fell but mining and oil stocks rose.

2. -- The economic calendar in the U.S. on Tuesday includes the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting, which will continue Wednesday. Data on single-family housing starts arrives at 8:30 a.m. Comparable-store sales results for chain stores, department stores and some other retailers will report at 8:55 a.m.

3. -- U.S. stocks on Monday had a big day, as the major U.S. indices all grew more than 1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) - Get Report jumped 1.29% to 17,977.42. The S&P 500 (SPY) - Get Report grew 1.35% to 2,081.19. The Nasdaq (QQQ) - Get Report rose 1.19% to 4,929.50.

4. -- The Fed's Open Market Committee two-day meeting kicks off Tuesday. Investors are hoping to glean a hint about when the Fed might raise interest rates.

Over the past weeks, domestic and international markets have been roiled by speculation about when the rate hike will come and what impact it will have on the U.S. and global economy. If the Fed doesn't decide to use the word "patient" in its description of its interest rate approach in its announcement Wednesday, many Fedwatchers believe the central bank may raise rates as soon as June.

5. -- Oil prices hit a six-year low, as excess U.S. production is building up large inventories and filling storage. OPEC also published a report suggesting it would not prop up prices. The prospect that a nuclear deal with Iran would open exporting from that country also hurt prices.

As West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2% to about $44 a barrel, some commentators wondered where the bottom would be and whether shale oil could recover.

6. -- American Airlines (AAL) - Get Report will be joining the S&P 500. American Airlines will replace Botox-maker Allergan (AGN) - Get Report, which is being bought by Actavis (ACT) - Get Report, on the index. American Airlines also owns US Airways.

In premarket trading, American Airlines stock was up 4.7%.

7. -- Chinese auction site Alibaba  (BABA) - Get Report is preparing its Ant Financial subsidiary for an IPO, Bloomberg Business is reporting. The Ant Financial division, which runs the mobile payments business Alipay and a bank, is estimated to be worth around $50 billion.

In premarket trading, Alibaba was up 0.18%.

8. -- After Tesla (TSLA) - Get Report CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company was "about to end range anxiety" over electric cars, investors have been buzzing in advance of a press conference to be held Thursday at 9 a.m. Electric cars have a set range over which they can drive without a time-consuming charge-up.

Tesla stock was sinking 0.65% in premarket trading after rising 3.7% Monday.

9. -- Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report has dropped almost 15% in a few weeks, and the drop has intensified after Evercore ISI analyst Ken Sena downgraded Netflix to a sell rating. Some investors are concerned that competitors to Netflix's streaming film and TV model will draw away customers.

Netflix stock was down 0.99% in premarket trading after a 3.8% selloff Monday.

10. -- Oracle (ORCL) - Get Report is set to report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday after the closing bell. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the cloud-computing company to earn an adjusted 68 cents a share on $9.46 billion in revenue.

In premarket trading, Oracle was down 0.48%.