LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - US stock futures edged lower on Wednesday, as investors awaited the start of the Federal Reserve's highly-anticipated two-day meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open down approximately 26 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set to begin the session three and four points lower respectively.

All eyes on Fed meeting

"With just over 24 hours to go before we hear from the FOMC, currency markets are reflecting a 28% chance that they will start raising rates in September," said IG's market analyst Alastair McCaig.

"Much more likely will be a start date later in the year or early 2016, but the FOMC will be conscious the currency markets' patience could easily turn to frustration should they continue to tease traders."

Away from the closely-watched Fed meeting, investors will focus on a number of key economic reports.

A reading on August inflation is released at 1330 BST, with analysts expecting the consumer price index (CPI) to show no change from the previous month, while the core CPI is forecast to have grown 0.1% month-on-month.

Meanwhile, a report on mortgage applications for the week to 11 September is on tap at 1200 BST and a September reading for the NAHB housing market index is published at 1500 BST.

"The CPI reading is not the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and the core reading is some way above the core personal consumption expenditure price index," said Oanda's senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

"That said, they won't necessarily ignore the release and if we see evidence that inflationary pressures are picking up or easing off further, it could sway the decision."

Elsewhere, Asian stocks were firmly in the black, driven higher by a late surge in Chinese markets, while European equities gained ground.

The dollar was broadly flat against the yen and gained 0.41% against the euro, although it lost 0.56% against the pound.

Gold futures rose 0.46% to $1,107.70, while oil prices climbed steadily. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.52% to $45.28 a barrel, while Brent gained 1.44% to $48.45 a barrel.

SABMiller surges on takeover speculation

In company news, beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V jumped 6.35% ahead of the bell after revealing it plans to submit a takeover offer for rival SABMiller.

As a result, SABMiller shares surged 20.2%.

Technology group Hewlett-Packard advanced 0.33% in pre-market trading despite announcing plans to cut between 25,000 and 30,000 jobs late on Tuesday, while Adobe Systems will report quarterly earnings after the close.

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