Stocks are set to build off Monday's record-setting session, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures trading well above fair value. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are signaling higher opens as well, as investors prepare for today's Fed meeting, which is widely expected to result in a decision to raise interest rates tomorrow. Elsewhere, the producer price index (PPI) for November topped expectations, marking the biggest annual gain in almost six years, and oil and bitcoin futures are in focus, too. Specifically, January-dated crude was last seen up 0.8% at $58.45 per barrel, while the cryptocurrency gives back some of yesterday's gains.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone explains what a Fed rate hike would mean for stocks. Why BlackBerry stock could be a bargain right now. Options traders are eyeing bigger bitcoin gains for this stock. Plus, PepsiCo orders Tesla semis; Boeing's big announcement; and analysts say "buy" this video game stock.
Asian stocks closed lower today, as caution set in ahead of the Fed's key monetary policy decision in the U.S. and tech stocks retreated. In Hong Kong, pressure from Tencent and Sunny Optical sent the Hang Seng to a 0.6% loss, while China's Shanghai Composite gave back 1.2% -- even after Beijing said bank lending grew at a stronger-than-expected pace last month. Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Nikkei tumbled 0.3% as the yen strengthened, while South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.4%.
European benchmarks are higher at midday, as technology shares rally on news French IT firm Atos has offered to buy Dutch chipmaker Gemalto for roughly $5 billion. A surge in energy stocks is also boosting investor sentiment, as oil prices pop on reports of a key North Sea pipeline outage. At last check, the French CAC 40 was up 0.5%, the German DAX was 0.2% higher, and London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% following a report that showed U.K. inflation surged to a nearly six-year high in November -- more than one percentage point above the Bank of England's target.