Stock Futures Pointed Higher as Fed Meeting Looms

Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning, as investors try to shake the September slump ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision. The central bank will conclude its two-day meeting later today, with an economic and interest rate forecast followed by Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference. Meanwhile, Wall Street is keeping a close eye on China's Evergrande default crisis, though the real estate giant has pledged to pay interest on time.

At last check, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are up roughly 205 points, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are also well above breakeven.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White breaks down the validity of "Turnaround Tuesday."
• Jabil's pre-earnings C-suite shakeup and new initiative.
• Plus, FedEx's earnings whiff; General Mills' beat-and-raise; and an e-tailer set to surge.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.4 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 653,095 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.44, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.51.
2. The shares of FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) are down 5.9% ahead of the open, after the logistics giant's earnings fell short of Wall Street projections. Should today's negative price action hold, FedEx stock will move further below its year-to-date breakeven level.
3. General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS), meanwhile, is up 3.2% in electronic trading. The company's third-quarter earnings report showed earnings and revenue that beat analysts' forecasts. This upbeat price action puts General Mills stock on track to overcome its own year-to-date breakeven level.
4. Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) is surging before the bell, last seen up 12.1% after the e-tailer reported a surprise fiscal fourth-quarter profit.  In addition, Stitch Fix's active clients increased by 18% year-over-year. In that same timeframe, SFIX has tacked on 22%.
5. In addition to the Fed meeting, there will be a report on existing home sales.  

Overseas Markets Attempt to Move Past Evergrande Crisis

Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday, though Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s Kospi were closed for a holiday. China’s Shanghai Composite came back from a holiday of its own to close 0.4% higher, despite shedding more than 1% at its session lows, as investors reacted to China Evergrande Group’s fallout. Boosting sentiment was news that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) purchased short-term bonds from commercial lenders, while China also kept its benchmark lending rate the same. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.7% , after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) maintaining its monetary policy, noting the country’s income and employment rates “remained weak” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, European markets are higher, as investors try to push past the Evergrande crisis to focus on the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting later today. Encouraging traders is an announcement from Evergrande unit Hengda, noting it will pay domestic bonds with a coupon tomorrow. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 1.3%, France’s CAC 40 is 1.2% higher, and the German DAX sports a 0.6% lead.