Gold prices edge higher on raised Fed rate cut hopes
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* Fed expected to extend vow to keep rates low
* FedEx jumps on bigger-than-expected quarterly profit
* Boeing down after U.S. House panel's report on 737 MAX
crashes
* Futures up: Dow 0.50%, S&P 500 0.53%, Nasdaq 0.31%
(Adds comments, company news; Updates price action)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Sept 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to
open higher on Wednesday as investors hoped for a pledge by the
Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low for a prolonged
period, with upbeat quarterly results from FedEx also boosting
sentiment.
The central bank's two-day meeting is its first under a
newly adopted framework that promises to shoot for inflation
above 2% to make up for periods where it is running below that
target. The Federal Open Market Committee will release its policy
statement and economic projections at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT),
followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's virtual news briefing half
an hour later. "I don't think the Fed is concerned about supporting the
stock market, but they are concerned about supporting the
economy with a very favorable rate policy for a very extended
period of time," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane
Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey.
"But the Fed policy is probably the biggest driving force
behind the continued strength of the stock market."
Wall Street's main indexes have bounced after a tech-driven
slump last week that pushed the Nasdaq Composite index .IXIC
into correction territory in just three sessions.
After declining for two weeks in a row, the benchmark S&P
500 .SPX has rebounded 1.8% in the past two sessions, with
defensive sectors including real estate .SPLRCR and utilities
.SPLRCU among the biggest gainers.
At 8:09 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 141 points, or
0.5%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 18 points, or 0.53% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 35.25 points, or 0.31%.
Delivery firm FedEx Corp FDX.N jumped 9.2% in premarket
trading after reporting a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit,
helped in part by price hikes and lower fuel costs. Shares in rival United Parcel Service Inc UPS.N gained
4.1%.
Boeing Co BA.N fell 1% after a U.S. House panel concluded
that two 737 MAX crashes were the "horrific culmination" of
failures by the planemaker and the Federal Aviation
Administration. Apple Inc AAPL.O dipped 0.1%, after ending the previous
session marginally higher, as it rolled out a new virtual
fitness service and a bundle of all its subscriptions, Apple
One. Other tech-related stocks including Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O ,
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O gained
between 0.7% and 0.8%.
Eastman Kodak Co KODK.N jumped 42.5% after a law firm
hired by the photography equipment maker said Chief Executive
Officer Jim Continenza's securities transactions around the time
the company learned it could receive a $765 million government
loan did not violate internal policies.