Stocks - U.S. Futures Set to Open Higher After Apple Boost

Investing.com -- Wall Street is set for a buoyant open on Wednesday, as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s quarterly earnings leave investors in no mood to wait for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day.

The Cupertino-based giant’s shares were indicated 5.9% higher in premarket trade after it increased its buyback program by $75 billion, and indicated that higher revenue from accessories, iPads and services were all helping to offset the recent decline in iPhone sales.

At 6.45 AM ET (1045 GMT) The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 contract was indicated up 54 points, or 0.7%, reversing the losses posted on Tuesday after Alphabet’s disappointing update wiped a combined $100 billion off the so-called FAANG stocks (Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL)).

The Dow futures contract was indicated up 77 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 futures was up 8.8 points, also up 0.3%. It had hit a new all-time high of 2961.12 overnight.

The day’s early earnings reports have been somewhat weaker than expected, with Willis Towers Watson PLC (NASDAQ:WLTW)and Entergy (NYSE:ETR) both missing earnings consensus. By contrast, Humana (NYSE:HUM) beat on both top and bottom lines, as did hotel group Hotel Worldwide.

They’ll be followed by consumer giants Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) and Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM), CVS, MetLife (NYSE:MET), ADP (NASDAQ:ADP), Corning (NYSE:GLW) and Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) in the course of the morning. Chipmaker Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) reports after the closing bell.

Elsewhere, the dollar is weaker across the board as the market prepares for the Fed’s monetary policy statement at 2 PM ET. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was at a one-week low of 97.072.

Crude oil futures were also lower as the turmoil in Venezuela failed to have a noticeable impact on oil shipments. The U.S. benchmark WTI futures contract was at $63.59, more than a dollar off Tuesday’s highs. Prices took a knock late on Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported a surprise increase in U.S. crude stocks last week.

Gold futures were a fraction lower at $1,284.35 having dipped briefly below $1,280 in the European morning.

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