Wall Street ticks higher ahead of Fed's rate decision; Trump’s Asian tour sends Nikkei to a record

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Wall Street was pointing toward gains in premarket trading Wednesday as markets focus on the latest corporate earnings ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision this afternoon.

Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.3% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. Nasdaq futures were 0.5% higher. A day earlier, all three indexes set all-time highs for a third straight session.

Markets in Asia closed higher, lifted in part by U.S. President Donald Trump's upbeat comments on relations with China and Japan as he continues his Asian tour.

Nvidia climbed another 3.8% overnight, extending Tuesday's bump and making the chipmaker the first company to reach $5 trillion in market value. The recent rally started Tuesday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang disclosed $500 billion in chip orders. Also, according to media reports, Trump said he would discuss the company's Blackwell chips when he meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week.

The ravenous appetite for Nvidia’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has been soaring since 2023. On Wednesday, the shares touched $207.80 in premarket trading, putting its market cap at $5.05 trillion.

Shares of Caterpillar jumped 4.4% in premarket trading after the industrial machinery manufacturer blew past Wall Street expectations thanks to 10% increase in revenue over the same quarter last year.

Reporting after the bell are Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Starbucks.

Later Wednesday, the Federal Reserve was to announce its latest move on interest rates.

Investors expect the Fed to announce a rate cut given the slowing job market. It would be the second time this year that it’s lowered the federal funds rate.

Given the lack of statistical updates due to the nearly monthlong U.S. government shutdown, Fed officials may opt for caution, analysts said.

“In the absence of fresh data, policymakers are effectively acting half-blind, but the market widely expects a 25-basis-point rate cut,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary.

In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower, while the CAC 40 in Paris was flat. Britain’s FTSE 100 picked up 0.7%.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.2% to a record 51,307.65.

After a visit in Japan that culminated in $490 billion in investment commitments, Trump met with South Korea’s leader on Wednesday, though a trade deal with that country appeared more elusive.

Top officials in Washington and Seoul say the sticking point for an agreement continues to be the logistics behind Trump’s demand that South Korea invest $350 billion in the United States.

Still, South Korea's Kospi rose 1.8% to 4,081.15.

The Shanghai Composite index surged 0.7% at 4,016.33. It has been trading near decade highs ahead of Trump's expected meeting with China's Xi on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea.

Trump and Xi have been locked in an escalating trade war, with Washington imposing high tariffs and tightened technology controls and China retaliating with curbs on rare earth shipments, one of its key sources of leverage.

The fact that a meeting is planned suggests there is room for some progress in easing tensions, experts say.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 1% to 8,926.20 after the release of higher than expected inflation data, an annual rate of 3.2%, dashed hopes for an interest rate cut anytime soon.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.2% and India's Sensex rose 0.4%.

In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 25 cents to $60.40 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 24 cents to $64.07 a barrel.