US Stock Futures Rise; Fed Decision In Focus

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to announce policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 27 points to 17,540.0, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 4.25 points to 2,064.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 11.62 points to 4,643.88. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.43 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.38 percent and German DAX 30 index surging 0.76 percent. French CAC 40 Index jumped 0.51 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.45 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.67 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.80 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped 1.72 percent and India's BSE Sensex declined 0.78 percent. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Pacific Crest upgraded Apple Inc. AAPL from Sector Weight to Overweight. Apple shares rose 1.44 percent to $116.20 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter and announced plans to buy Rite Aid Corp. RAD for a total enterprise value of around $17.2 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• Hershey Co HSY reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. To read the full news, click here.
• Snyder's-Lance, Inc. LNCE and Diamond Foods, Inc. DMND today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Snyder's-Lance will acquire all outstanding shares of Diamond Foods in a cash and stock merger transaction for approximately $1.91 billion, including the assumption of approximately $640 million of indebtedness. To read the full news, click here.
• Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation BAH reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter on Wednesday. To read the full news, click here.