07:07 AM EDT, 07/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were trending higher in Wednesday's premarket activity, as investors digest the latest earnings results and brace for the Federal Reserve's policy decision on interest rates later in the day.

Standard & Poor's 500 rose 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% and the Nasdaq increased 1.5% before the opening bell. Asian and European exchanges were tracking in the green.

The Fed is due to announce its rate decision at 2 pm ET, with Chair Jerome Powell to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm. There is a 97% chance the central bank will keep its key rate unchanged, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Also on Wednesday's economic calendar, the weekly mortgage applications bulletin posts at 7 am, followed by the ADP Employment Report for July at 8:15 am. The second-quarter employment cost index is out at 8:30 am, followed by the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index for the current month at 9:45 am.

The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index for June is scheduled for a 10 am release, while the weekly EIA domestic natural-gas supplies report is due at 10:30 am. Last month's farm prices report posts at 3 pm.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares were down 2.6% pre-bell as the technology giant's fiscal fourth-quarter intelligent cloud revenue missed Wall Street's estimates. Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) climbed 9.1% as its quarterly results topped market expectations. Starbucks ( SBUX ) gained 2.8% after the coffee giant affirmed its full-year outlook even as fiscal third-quarter sales missed analysts' forecasts.

Mastercard ( MA ) , T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) , Boeing ( BA ) , Marriott International ( MAR ) , Humana (HUM), Johnson Controls International ( JCI ) , Kraft Heinz ( KHC ) , GE HealthCare Technologies ( GEHC ) , DuPont de Nemours ( DD ) and Norwegian Cruise Line ( NCLH ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms ( META ) and semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm ( QCOM ) post earnings after market close.

In premarket action, bitcoin edged 0.3% higher to $65,987, West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 2.6% to $76.65 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries slipped 0.4 basis points to 4.14% and gold inclined 0.5% to $2,463 an ounce.