US Stock Futures Up; All Eyes On Fed

US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 22 points to 15,266.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2.70 points to 1,647.90. Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 9 points to 2,997.50. US stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 0.91% to 15,318.23, the S&P 500 index rising 0.78% to 1,651.81 and the Nasdaq 100 index gaining 0.87% to 3,482.18. The MBA purchase applications index will be released at 7:00 a.m. ET, while the EIA weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. The FOMC will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a news conference at 2:15 p.m. ET. Adobe Systems ADBE reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter earnings. La-Z-Boy LZB reported a drop in its fiscal fourth-quarter net income. FedEx FDX is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.96 per share on revenue of $11.44 billion. Actuant ATU is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.59 per share on revenue of $343.71 million. CLARCOR CLC is expected to post its Q2 earnings at $0.67 per share on revenue of $290.19 million. Micron Technology MU is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.02 per share on revenue of $2.25 billion. Finisar FNSR is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.17 per share on revenue of $242.60 million. Red Hat RHT is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue of $359.84 million. Jabil Circuit JBL is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $4.40 billion. European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.21%, London's FTSE 100 index dropped 0.10%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.16% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.23%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surging 1.83%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.73% and Australia's ASX/S&P500 gaining 0.98%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.13% and India's Sensex gained 0.09%. Japan's exports surged 10.1% y/y. However, economists were expecting a 6.5% rise in exports. Imports climbed 10% y/y.