US Stock Futures Up As Investors Await Federal Reserve Chairman's News Conference

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman's news conference. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 41 points to 12,559.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 5 points to 1,345.90. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 surged 14.25 points to 2,399.00. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.93% to 12,595.37, the S&P 500 index surged 0.90% to 1,347.24 and the Nasdaq 100 index rose 0.77% to 2,847.54. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is scheduled to announce its decision on the interest rate policy in a statement at 12:30 p.m. U.S. ET. The Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's post-FOMC meeting news conference is scheduled at 2:15 p.m. ET. Shares of Amazon.com Inc. AMZN dropped about 1.2% in pre-market trading after the company reported a sharp decline in its Q1 earnings. The company reported its Q1 earnings at $201 million, or $0.44 per share, down from $299 million, or $0.66 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's revenue surged 38% to $9.86 billion. However, analysts expected earnings of $0.61 per share on revenue of $9.54 billion. AMZN projects its Q2 revenue between $8.85 billion and $9.65 billion, versus analysts' estimates of $8.75 billion. Altera Corp ALTR reported its Q1 net income at $224.1 million, or $0.68 per share, up from $153.2 million, or $0.50 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. The company's revenue increased 33% to $535.8 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue of $537.9 million. ConocoPhillips COP is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $1.95 on revenue of $61.72 billion. Starbucks Corp SBUX is estimated to post its Q2 EPS at $0.34 on revenue of $2.73 billion. eBay Inc EBAY is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.46 on revenue of $2.48 billion. Corning Inc GLW is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $1.83 billion. Allstate Corporation (The) ALL is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.69 on revenue of $6.23 billion. Boeing Co BA is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.72 per share on revenue of $15.13 billion. Southern Co SO is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.51 on revenue of $3.84 billion. Johnson & Johnson JNJ announced its plans to acquire Swiss medical-device manufacturer Synthes Inc for $21.3 billion. European markets were higher today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.35%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.02%. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.39%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.84% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.44%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.48% and India's Sensex lost 0.49%. Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on Japan's sovereign rating from “stable” to “negative.” The Australian dollar jumped to a new 29-year high against the greenback. The euro jumped to $1.4673 versus the dollar. Against the Japanese yen, the greenback gained to ¥81.79, versus ¥81.55 late Tuesday. Oil futures dropped, with Nymex crude futures falling $0.47 at $112.68 a barrel in electronic trade. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.