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Investors will scour the statement after a U.S. Federal Reserve
meeting for any signs of when the Fed is likely to begin raising
interest rates and the pace of any subsequent hikes.
* The Fed statement is due at 2:00 p.m. ET, followed by Chair
Janet Yellen's news conference half an hour later, with analysts
expecting her to focus on signs the economy is recovering after
a bumpy start to the year.
* U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday following back-to-back
daily declines, with merger activity offsetting market concerns
as Greece struggles to avoid a default on its debt.
* Relations between Greece and its creditors have become
increasingly acrimonious in recent days, leaving little hope
that a meeting of EU finance ministers on Thursday will make any
progress.
* Athens needs fresh funds to avoid defaulting on a 1.6 billion
euro ($1.8 billion) debt repayment to the International Monetary
Fund on June 30, which could drive it toward the euro zone exit.
* Synergy Pharmaceuticals shares soared 45.5 percent to $6.81 in
premarket trading after the company's late-stage study of
constipation treatment meet the main goal.
* Qihoo 360 Technology <QIHU.N> jumped 12.5 percent to $74.31
after the mobile antivirus software maker said a Chinese
consortium had offered to buy the company for $77 per American
depositary share.
Futures snapshot at 7:18 a.m. ET:
* S&P 500 e-minis were up 3.5 points, or 0.17 percent, with
91,356 contracts traded.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.07 percent,
on volume of 4,724 contracts.
* Dow e-minis were up 36 points, or 0.2 percent, with 2,696
contracts changing hands.
(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Don Sebastian)
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