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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were headed for modest gains Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy statement due out in the afternoon.

At 8:55 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were slightly higher.

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending at the highest point since last fall. Stocks have achieved one-year highs repeatedly over the last two weeks.

But on Wednesday, investors have little to move them ahead of the expected policy statement from the Federal Reserve, according to Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners.

"The key focus of the day is going to the Fed statement and whether or not they (policy makers) will hint the economy is more of a V-shaped recovery and lead to hiking interest rates earlier than anticipated," said Cardillo. "It's all about what the Fed is going to do."

Cardillo said stocks could follow the lead of prior sessions and move higher, before and after the policy statement.

"The momentum is still to the upside and the September blues have been avoided," he said. "Unless there's some real negative news out of the Fed statement, I would think that we'll see the market close in positive territory."

Fed: The central bank's two-day meeting ends Wednesday, with the Fed's policy statement scheduled to come out at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Policymakers are widely expected to hold short-term interest rates unchanged at levels near zero. But investors will scrutinize the statement for clues on how they see the economic outlook.

Companies: American Airlines, the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline owned by AMR Corp., announced on Wednesday that it will sell $450 million worth of three-year corporate notes.

AMR's (AMR, Fortune 500) stock slipped more than 1% in pre-market trading.

US Airways Group, based in Tempe, Ariz., announced that it will sell more than 26 million shares of its common stock to Citi. The sale is expected to close Sept. 28.

US Airways' (LCC, Fortune 500) stock dropped 7% in pre-market trading.

General Mills, the Minneapolis-based cereal company, announced that its diluted earnings per share surged 58% to $1.25 in its first quarter ended Aug. 30., compared to the year-ago EPS of 79 cents. The company also raised its outlook.

General Mills' (GIS, Fortune 500) stock rose 4% in pre-market trading.

Congress: The House approved a bill Tuesday that could extend jobless benefits to more than 1 million people for an additional 13 weeks. The bill extends to benefits for those living in the 27 states with jobless rates higher than 8.5%, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Money and oil: The dollar held near its lowest level in a year against a basket of major currencies ahead of the Fed decision. Oil fell 44 cents a barrel to $71.32.

World markets: Global stock indexes were mostly higher. Australian shares rose, buoyed by a surge in commodity stocks. Markets in Japan were closed. European markets rose in midday trading.