U.S. stock futures are higher in pre-market trading for Wednesday, July 12. The Dow Futures are trading at 21,396.00 for up with +0.14% percent or +0.14% point. The S&P 500 Futures are trading at 2,428.00 for up with  +0.14% percent or +3.50 point. The Nasdaq Futures are trading at 5,733.88 for up with  +0.24% percent or +13.88 point.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 are trading at 20,098.38 with a loss of-0.48% percent or –97.10 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are trading at 26,037.11 for up with +0.63% percent or +162.42 point. China’s Shanghai Composite are trading at 3,189.70 with a loss of –0.42% percent or –13.34point. India’s S&P BSE Sensex are trading at 31,735.22  with a loss of  –0.04% percent or –11.87 point at 12:15 PM. In Europe, the FTSE 100 are trading at 7,385.23 for up with  +0.76% percent or +55.47 point. Germany’s DAX are trading at 12,517.12 for up with +0.64% percent or +80.10point. France’s CAC 40 are trading at 5,186.30 for up with +0.89% percent or +45.66 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 are trading at 382.03 for up with  0.76% percent or +0.76% point.

Wednesday’s Factors and Events

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday as traders awaited the latest central bank policy announcements.

Dow futures rose 34 points, while S&P and Nasdaq futures climbed 4.25 points and 15.75 points, respectively.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will be outlining her Monetary Policy Report Wednesday in an address to Congress which is likely to also pose questions about further tightening and Yellen’s own future at the central bank. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada is expected to follow the Fed’s gradual tightening agenda and hike rates for the first time in seven years.

On the earnings front, Bank of the Ozarks and Fastenal posted quarterly results before the bell. Barnes & Noble and MSC Industrial are both due to report after the market close.

In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx-600 index was around 0.8 percent higher on Wednesday. In Asia, the Shanghai composite in China closed 0.16 percent lower, while the Nikkei in Japan closed 0.48 percent lower.

In oil markets, Brent crude traded at around $48.15 a barrel on Tuesday, up 1.33 percent, while U.S. crude was around $45.73 a barrel, up 1.5 percent.

Tuesday’s Activity

U.S. market  were mixed on Tuesday.For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,409.07 with 0.00% percent or +0.55 point.The S&P 500 closed at 2,425.53  with a loss of  –0.08% percent or –1.90 point.The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,193.30 for up with +0.27% percent or +16.91 point.

Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,413.05 for up with  +0.33% percent or +4.58 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 851.35 for up with  +0.24% percent or +2.01 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,745.35 for up with  +0.13% percent or +2.28 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,068.81 with a loss of –0.08% percent or –0.81 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,437.24  with a loss of –0.01% percent or –0.19 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,344.12 with a loss of –0.04% percent or –0.55 point; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 21,409.07 with  0.00% percent or +0.55 point.