07:24 AM EDT, 09/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were pointing higher in Wednesday's premarket activity ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision on interest rates later in the day.

Standard & Poor's 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average all increased 0.2% each before the opening bell. The majority of Asian exchanges were tracking in the green, while European bourses were trending lower.

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. Currently, there is a 65% chance the central bank will reduce its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points, with the remaining odds in the favor of a 25-basis-point reduction, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Also on Wednesday's economic calendar, the weekly mortgage applications bulletin is out at 7 am, followed by the housing starts and permits data for August at 8:30 am. The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations report for this month posts at 10 am, while the weekly domestic petroleum inventories report is due at 10:30 am.

General Mills ( GIS ) is set to report its latest financial results before the open, among others. Steelcase ( SCS ) posts earnings after markets close.

Intuitive Machines ( LUNR ) shares surged 45% pre-bell after the company secured a Near Space Network contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with a maximum potential value of $4.82 billion. Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) rose 0.7% after the European Union's General Court annulled a 1.49-billion-euro ($1.66 billion) fine imposed on Google ( GOOG ) by the European Commission for alleged abusive practices in online advertising.

In the premarket, bitcoin declined 0.6% to $59,852, West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 1.4% to $70.21 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries inched 0.2 basis points higher to 3.66% and gold inclined 0.4% to $2,602 an ounce.