US pre-open: Futures lower ahead of FOMC decision

Wall Street futures had stocks opening lower ahead of the bell on Wednesday as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's all-important interest rate decision.

As of 1325 GMT, Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were 0.24% and 0.15% lower, respectively, while Nasdaq-100 futures had the index opening 0.02% softer.

The Dow closed 79.75 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Wednesday's primary focus will be the central bank's interest rate decision, with the Fed widely expected to reveal a fourth straight 0.75% rate hike as part of an effort to combat high inflation.

However, market participants also hope to find some sort of hint that chairman Jerome Powell, who will likely play a pivotal role in determining which direction stocks will go over the coming months, is ready to cool the speed of its rate-hiking plan before the end of the year.

The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision at 1900 GMT, which will then be followed by a press conference at 1330 GMT.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications dipped 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the seven days ended 28 October - a sixth consecutive weekly decline. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the purchase index fell 0.8%, while the refinancing index increased by 0.2%.

Elsewhere, US companies added 239,000 jobs in October, according to ADP, beating estimates for a print of 195,000 and September's downwardly revised 192,000 reading. Wages rose 7.7% year-on-year, down 0.1% month-on-month.

In the corporate space, Estée Lauder shares were lower in pre-market trading after issuing weaker-than-expected guidance, while Caesars Entertainment topped estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Ford reported a 10% in sales during October as a result of ongoing supply chain issues, while media giant Paramount missed top and bottom line expectations for the third quarter.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com