Sentiment was also boosted after China said it would put in place favorable policy measures for its capital markets and strive to reach an agreement on cooperation between China and the United States in the field of financial supervision. the audit, which fueled a rally in US-listed Chinese stocks.
The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by at least 25 basis points in what would be the first of a series of interest rate hikes this year, as the central bank steps up the fight against stubbornly high inflation .
The policy statement is expected at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) and will be followed by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference, which traders are likely to scan for details on how the central bank plans to implement end of its bond purchase program.
The major banks have increased in pre-market exchanges. Bank of America and Citigroup rose 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively, as US Treasury yields hit their highest level since mid-2019. [US/]
Tesla Inc rose 2.9%, to lead gains among shares of other tech titans.
Oil majors Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil rebounded after two days of sharp declines as crude prices rose. [O/R]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the talks were becoming “more realistic”, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was “some hope for a compromise”, with a neutral status for Ukraine.
A wild run in oil prices earlier this month due to Western sanctions on Russian oil products had raised fears of higher inflation and a hit to economic growth at a time when global central banks are considering to tighten their monetary policies.
As of 6:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 360 points, or 1.07%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 53.5 points, or 1.26%, and Nasdaq 100 minis were up 248.75 points, or 1.85%.
US-listed shares of Baidu, Alibaba Group, JD.com, Tencent Music, Pinduoduo Inc Didi Global jumped between 14.9% and 36.7%.
On the economic data front, the February retail sales reading is due at 08:30 ET.
The CBOE volatility index, also known as the Wall Exchange’s fear gauge, fell to 28.54 points, its lowest level since Feb. 28.