US pre-open: Stocks seen higher after Fed announcement

US futures pointed to a positive on Wall Street on Thursday as investors digested the latest policy announcement and statement from the Federal Reserve.

At 1120 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all 0.3% higher.

On Wednesday, the Fed left interest rates on hold, as widely expected, although the odds of an interest rate hike at the central bank's June meeting rose to 94% from around 70% following the accompanying policy statement, in which it brushed aside the importance of weaker-than-expected first-quarter GDP figures.

Societe Generale said the FOMC statement retained the language on the balance of risks, the reinvestment strategy, and the forward guidance, as it had expected.

"However, the economic assessment was perhaps more upbeat than anticipated. The Committee essentially dismissed the weakness in Q1 growth, stating that it was likely to be transitory. Instead, they noted that both job gains and the fundamentals for spending were solid, and they modestly upgraded their assessment of business investment.

"Although they noted that core inflation fell in March, they continued to expect that inflation would stabilise around 2% in the medium term. In our view, the optimism expressed seems like an unnecessary risk, especially given last year's lesson."

Later on Thursday, the House will vote on the Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "This one may well get through, which should provide a bullish move for healthcare stocks. It will be nice to see the administration finally get something passed; better late than never, as they say."

Meanwhile, the French election was also likely to be on investors' minds as centrist Emmanuel Macron remained ahead in the polls following Wednesday evening's televised debate between him and Marine Le Pen.

In corporate news, Facebook was weaker in pre-market trader after the company reported a rise in quarterly profit and sales but warned that revenue could slow "meaningfully" in 2017.

Electric car maker Tesla Inc was also on the back foot after it reported a widening of its adjusted quarterly loss late on Wednesday.

Dunkin' Brands, Kellogg, Avon and Madison Square Garden were among the companies slated to report earnings before the opening bell.

On the data front, initial jobless claims are at 1330 BST, along with non-farm productivity, while factory orders are at 1500 BST.