U.S. Stock Futures on the Rise Ahead of Fed
Updated from 7:00 a.m. EDT
Premarket futures were pointing to a higher open for stocks in New York Tuesday as traders geared up for a
Federal Reserve
meeting and took in solid earnings from energy firm
BP
(BP) - Get Report
.
Futures for the
S&P 500
were up 38 points at 873 and were 25 above fair value.
Nasdaq
futures were up 49 points at 1211 and were 39 ahead of fair value.
During a volatile trading session Monday, the three major averages sold off in the last hour, as pessimism about the fate of the global economy took hold of investors.
As Tuesday began, the Fed was set to begin deliberations on its interest-rate policy. Many investors expect the Federal Open Market Committee to reduce its target interest rate 50 basis points to 1%. Such a move would signal interest in providing the markets with capital to alleviate the ongoing credit crisis.
Meanwhile, the
is facing difficulties implementing its $700 billion program to purchase troubled assets from banks, according to a report in
The Wall Street Journal
. The report indicated that the plan faces delays in hiring managers for the assets.
As for
, BP, Europe's second-largest oil company, reported third-quarter earnings that increased 83% on high oil and natural gas prices.
U.S. Steel
(X) - Get Report
also announced an encouraging third quarter, saying profit more than tripled. However, the company offered softer guidance for the fourth quarter.
Whirlpool
(WHR) - Get Report
reported a 7% decline in third-quarter earnings and said it plans to slash 5,000 jobs.
In other company news, aircraft maker
(BA) - Get Report
came to a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union. The union had been on strike since Sept. 6.
As for automakers, the
Journal
reported that
General Motors
(GM) - Get Report
may secure a $5 billion government loan -- part of $25 billion in funding recently authorized by Congress -- to finance a purchase of fellow troubled automaker
Chrysler
.
Shifting to economic data, traders will get a look at the Conference Board's consumer-confidence reading for October.
As for commodities, crude oil was gaining $1.89 to $65.11 a barrel. Gold was adding $1.90 to $744.80 an ounce.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were declining in price. The 10-year was down 29/32 to yield 3.8%, and the 30-year was losing 1-14/32, yielding 4.12%. The Treasury has announced a sale of $34 billion in two-year Treasury bills to raise money to continue to bolster the banking system. It plans to raise another $24 billion on Oct. 30.
The dollar was rallying vs. the yen, but falling against the euro and pound.
Overseas, European exchanges, including London's FTSE and Frankfurt's DAX, were mostly trading higher.
had a mixed session, as the Nikkei in Japan and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed with gains.
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