US markets today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures indicate higher open; key focus on US Fed’s meeting

US equity market futures indicate a higher opening on Tuesday, October 27, as investors focus on oil prices trading lower, steady US Treasury yields, tech stocks' momentum from Asian markets and the US Federal Reserve starting its two-day policy meeting to determine interest rates for the American economy.

Dow Jones futures were trading 0.20% higher at 52,655 points ahead of the opening bell on October 27, indicating a potentially elevated open on Tuesday, according to Investing.com data.

The S&P 500 index futures were up 0.25% at around 7,734 points, and the Nasdaq 100 index futures were trading 0.33% higher, indicating a higher opening at around 29,534 points in Tuesday’s market.

Key things to watch before US market opens

US stocks to watch today

Reports suggest that the company is potentially looking to invest $3 billion in Meta as the firm looks to raise up to $95 billion to support its investments in AI infrastructure.

US Fed meeting in focus

The US Federal Reserve’s FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) is set to start its two-day meeting on Tuesday, October 27, where the members will determine the key benchmark interest rates for the US economy.

CME Group’s FedWatch data suggests that market experts predict a 90.6% probability that the central bank will keep interest rates unchanged at the current level, while 9.4% expect a 25-basis-point rate hike potential.

Crude oil trades under $110/bbl

Global crude oil prices were trading under $110 per bbl levels on October 27, as commodity market investors evaluate the efforts to ease the US-Iran conflict while the latest Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia’s territory kept energy prices elevated.

As of 5:18 pm (IST), the benchmark Brent futures for January were trading 0.68% lower at $109.98 per bbl on Tuesday’s market, in comparison to $110.74 per bbl at the previous market close levels.

While the December futures of Brent were down 1%, trading around $114.75 per bbl on October 27, in comparison to $115.81 per bbl at the previous market close.

Latest reports showed that prices remained elevated due to the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude pipeline and Riyadh airport, yet traders focused on the hopes of a breakthrough between the United States and Iran, which resulted in a pullback in energy prices.

Asian markets today

The equity indices in Asia ended on a mixed note amid buying in tech and AI stocks on investors’ optimism, while other heavyweights lagged to maintain positive momentum on Tuesday, October 27.

MarketWatch data showed that Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended 1.73% higher, and South Korea’s KOSPI closed 3.09% higher after the trading session on Monday.

In contrast, other benchmark Asian indices like Hang Seng closed 0.73% lower, China’s Shanghai Composite ended 1.33% lower, India’s SENSEX ended flat, and Singapore’s FTSE closed 0.35% lower on October 27.

How did US markets end on Monday?

US equity market indices ended higher after their trading session on Monday, October 26, as investors focused on the pullback in crude oil prices, steady bond yields, Anthropic’s announcement of an IPO, and the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting outcome.

Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.28% higher at 52,361.58 points after the trading session on Monday, in comparison to 52,215.16 points at the previous equity market close, according to MarketWatch data.

The S&P 500 index closed 0.70% higher at 7,676.77 points after the trading session on October 26, compared to 7,623.68 points at the previous Wall Street close, as per the exchange data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index rallied to close 1.09% higher at 29,273.40 points after Monday’s trading session, in comparison to 28,957.53 points at the previous US equity market close.