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Investors await rate decision

Stock futures in tight range ahead of Fed's policy statement; GM, Time Warner on deck to report earnings.

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In six months, I believe the economy will...
  • Be in better shape
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LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks futures were range bound early Wednesday as investors awaited a rate decision from the Federal Reserve and more corporate earnings.

At 5:04 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were little changed and indicating a lackluster start for Wall Street.

The Fed is expected to cut rates yet again when it releases its policy statement at 2:15 p.m. ET. But many expect the central bank to keep rates steady after that cut.

Investors will also take in a reading on gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity. The first-quarter GDP reading is due out at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Ahead of the market open, earnings are due from automaker GM (GM, Fortune 500), media giant Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500) and consumer products maker Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500).

In major corporate news, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) is expected to make the next move in its takeover fight for Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) as early as today, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said the software giant is considering nominating a proxy slate of directors to replace Yahoo's board.

Oil prices steadied ahead of a weekly report on fuel inventories, which is slated for release at 10:30 a.m. ET. U.S. crude rebounded from the previous day's sharp drop to trade above $115 a barrel in electronic trading.

In global trade, Japan stocks ended the session slightly lower. European shares edged lower in early trading. To top of page

Features
Markets Last Change
Dow Jones 10,520.10 53.66 / 0.51%
Nasdaq 2,285.69 16.05 / 0.71%
S&P 500 1,126.48 5.89 / 0.53%
10-year Bond 96 15/32 Yield: 3.80%
U.S.Dollar 1 euro = $1.437 -0.001
December 24, 2009 12:00 AM ET
CompanyPrice% Change
YRC Worldwide Inc 1.01 6.23%
Freddie Mac 1.26 -3.82%
US Airways Group Inc 5.35 3.50%
Allegheny Technologies Inc 45.68 3.30%
Dec 24 12:43pm ET †
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