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* The U.S. central bank is expected to provide
indications on the timing of its first interest rate hike in
nearly a decade, as it assesses whether the U.S. economic
recovery can hold up against collapsing oil prices and a soaring
dollar.
* A Fed statement is due at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), with a
press conference by Chair Janet Yellen half an hour later.
* The U.S. dollar has strengthened against most major currencies
as central banks around the world ease monetary policy while the
Fed is on track to tighten.
* U.S. crude fell for a seventh straight session, hitting a
fresh six-year low at $42.05 per barrel. Energy shares could
continue to be pressured by the price action in crude.
* A lock-up period in Alibaba <BABA.N> shares expires Wednesday,
freeing some 437 million Alibaba shares for possible sale. A
larger lock-up of more than a billion shares expires in
September. The stock hit a high of $120 back in November and
closed Tuesday at $84.50, about 24 percent above the $68 IPO
price.
* Oracle rose 2.2 percent in light premarket volume a day after
it posted flat third-quarter revenue and slightly lower profit.
However, it raised its quarterly dividend 25 percent to 15 cents
a share.
Futures snapshot at 7:34 a.m. EDT (11:34 GMT):
* S&P 500 e-minis were down 9 points, or 0.44 percent, with
133,889 contracts changing hands.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 16 points, or 0.37 percent, in
volume of 17,947 contracts.
* Dow e-minis were down 92 points, or 0.52 percent, with 14,176
contracts changing hands.
(Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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