Wall Street Points Higher Ahead of Federal Reserve Interest Rate Call

Wall Street is poised to open with gains as the Federal Reserve wraps up a two-day policy meeting where it will almost certainly leave interest rates unchanged despite pleas from President Donald Trump for a rate cut as he pursues a worldwide trade war.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6% before the bell Wednesday. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%.

Walt Disney Co. jumped more than 6% in premarket after the entertainment behemoth easily beat Wall Street’s profit targets for the second quarter. Disney’s revenue rose 7% from the same quarter a year ago as it added another 2.5 million Disney+ and Hulu subscribers.

Disney’s results come just days after Trump accused other countries of “stealing the movie-making capabilities” of the U.S. and said that he had authorized government agencies to immediately begin the process of implementing this new import tax on all foreign-made films.

Video game company Electronic Arts climbed more than 5% after it announced preliminary results for its most recent quarter, which also easily beat analysts’ sales and profit targets.

Some companies say they’re already seeing impacts to their business from the uncertainty created by tariffs, causing them to revise or pull their guidance. Some have even offered two sets of forecasts — one contingent on tariffs and one without the additional costs factored in.

Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have signaled that they want to see how the duties — including 145% on all imports from China — impact consumer prices and the economy.

Uncertainty around tariffs has also made U.S. households more pessimistic about the economy and could affect their long-term plans for purchases. That anxiety has helped fuel a surge in imports ahead of potentially more severe tariffs ahead.

The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record $140.5 billion in March as consumers and businesses alike tried to get ahead of tariffs that went into effect in April and others that have been postponed until July. Last week, the government reported the U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace during the first quarter of the year because of a surge in imports.

At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX was virtually unchanged, while the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.6% and Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.4%.

In Asia, shares advanced after the U.S. and China said they plan to hold trade talks in Switzerland later this week.

Hong Kong’s benchmark briefly jumped more than 2% after officials in Beijing rolled out interest rate cuts and other moves to help support the Chinese economy and markets as higher tariffs ordered by Trump hit the country’s exports.

But the markets’ reaction to both developments was relatively restrained.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% lower to 36,779.66.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained only 0.1% by the end of trading, closing at 22,691.88. The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.8% to 3,342.67.

The trade talks may account for the decision to announce the economic rescue package, Lynne Song of ING Economics said in a report.

“This way, the easing won’t be seen as a knee-jerk reaction to tariffs. Policymakers are likely now privy to some of the early data on how the economy is being impacted by the tariff shock,” Song said.

But analysts said the muted response to the policies announced Wednesday also may reflect disappointment over the lack of major government spending increases that many economists say may be needed to wrest the Chinese economy out of its doldrums.

“These will help to shore up growth at the margin. But any boost to credit demand will be modest and today’s moves are no substitute for an expansion in fiscal support,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a report.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.3% to 8,178.30, while the Kospi in South Korea gained 0.6% to 2,573,80.

U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 48 cents to $59.57 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 40 cents to $62.55 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 143.34 Japanese yen from 142.41 yen. The euro ticked down to $1.1365 from $1.1369.