U.S. Stock Futures Continue to Climb

LONDON--U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday, as investors awaited a policy statement from the Federal Reserve and looked toward economic data, including the ADP jobs report and inflation figures. Earnings from General Motors Co. and Facebook Inc. were also on tap.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 54 points, or 0.4%, to 15,670, while those for the S&P 500 index picked up 4.90 points, or 0.3%, to 1,772.30. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index added 15.25 points, or 0.5%, to 3,399.25.

The advances built on gains seen on Tuesday, when both the Dow industrials and S&P 500 index set record closing highs.

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee is likely to dominate market attention, when it wraps up its two-day policy meeting. A statement is expected at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, but analysts forecast no changes to interest rates or the central bank's $85-billion-a-month asset-purchases program, given the government shutdown earlier in the month and recent downbeat economic data. Instead, market participants will be looking to see if it will say anything to cement expectations that the first tapering will come in 2014. Read: What to look for in the Fed monetary-policy statement.

"We, like the markets, expect the Fed's message to be one of taper delay with data still too soft and government shutdown impacting Q4. We are, however, prepared for some form of expectations management, especially with U.S. bourses trading all-time highs. Maybe suggestions of Q1 2014, reining in some of the recent market exuberance based on hopes (similar to ours) of a delay until Q2?" Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said in a note ahead of the market open.

Economic data are also among highlights on Wednesday, with the ADP employment report due at 8:15 a.m. EDT. Wall Street will monitor the numbers for signs of how much the government shutdown hurt the labor market in October. Economists forecast that private companies added 150,000 jobs in October, down from 166,000 in September, according to a MarketWatch survey.

At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the consumer-price index is out, expected to have risen in September because of higher rents and auto prices. Economists forecast 0.2% increases in both the overall index and the so-called core rate that excludes food and energy.

In the corporate sector, shares of Yelp Inc. slid 9% ahead of the open after the business-search-service firm late Tuesday reported a wider third-quarter loss and announced a new sale of stock.

LinkedIn Corp. dropped 3.3% premarket after the company on Tuesday said it swung to a loss in the third quarter.

More companies are slated to release earnings on Wednesday. General Motors is projected to report third-quarter earnings of 94 cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

Investors are expected to primarily focus on comments about the car maker's capital-allocation strategy and latest update on operations in Europe, James Albertine, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, said in a recent report.

Facebook is likely to post earnings of 19 cents a share in the third quarter, while Starbucks Corp. is expected to post fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 59 cents a share.

In other financial markets, metals prices rose across the board, but oil prices slipped. The dollar moved lower. Both Asian and European stock markets were on the rise.

Write to Sara Sjolin at [e-mail]

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