08:11 AM EDT, 06/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were cautiously higher pre-bell Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were 0.2% higher, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.2%.

The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to release a monetary policy statement at 2 pm ET at the conclusion of its two-day meeting.

US President Donald Trump is considering a potential military action against Iran amid the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, media outlets reported.

The US stock market will be closed on Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.3% at $76.63 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.3% higher at $73.49 per barrel.

The new unemployment claims bulletin, scheduled for release at 8:30 am ET, is expected to show initial jobless claims decreasing by 2,000 to 246,000 in the week ended June 14. Housing starts are seen coming in at a 1.35 million annual rate for May, while permits are expected to come in at 1.42 million for the month, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.