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U.S. congressional leaders reported substantial progress toward
a spending bill late on Tuesday, bolstering hopes of increased
liquidity to offset the COVID-19 pandemic's economic impact.
The Fed is also expected to keep lending rates at near-zero and
signal their staying there for the foreseeable future at the
conclusion of a two-day meeting later on Wednesday. Markets are
anticipating an update on the Fed's bond-buying program.
The mix of low interest rates and increased liquidity has
brightened the outlook for equities, with markets having moved
in tandem with any progress toward fresh stimulus in recent
weeks.
U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 12.75 points, or 0.35%, at 06:08
a.m. ET. Dow E-minis were up 93 points, or 0.31%. Nasdaq 100
E-minis were up 40 points, or 0.32%.
Wall Street indexes benefited from a rally in technology stocks
on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq ending at a record high as investors
continued to buy into the sector's perceived resilience to the
pandemic.
Twitter Inc rose 3.5% in premarket trade on Wednesday, after
J.P. Morgan upgraded its stock to "overweight" as it expects the
social media company to stage a significant rebound in online
advertising following a pandemic-fueled decline.
Shares of marijuana producers Aphria Inc and rival Tilray Inc
jumped 11.8% and 22.0%, respectively, after a report that the
two companies had agreed to combine their operations.
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
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