Investors eyed upcoming economic data and corporate earnings reports, while uncertainty around the Federal Reserve's next move continued to influence market sentiment.

U.S. stock futures rose late Tuesday as investors looked ahead to Wednesday's Federal Reserve rate decision and closely followed U.S.-China trade talks.

As of 9:53 p.m. ET, the Dow futures were up 0.49%, the S&P 500 futures were up 0.53%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.58%.

Gold futures climbed sharply as investors sought safe-haven assets ahead of the Fed's decision, while the 10-year Treasury yield edged lower to 4.30% after briefly breaching 4.36% earlier in the week.

The uptick in futures followed reports confirming that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and trade official Jamieson Greer would meet Chinese officials in Switzerland later this week. 

The meeting, seen as a potential breakthrough in trade tensions following President Donald Trump’s tariff escalation last month, raised hopes of renewed cooperation.

The rally comes ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy announcement at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, with markets widely expecting the central bank to hold interest rates steady. 

Fed funds futures show a 96.9% probability of no change, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Investors will closely watch Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference for any clues about the central bank's rate outlook amid growing political pressure and inflation concerns. 

President Trump, who recently criticized Powell in a televised interview, has reiterated his calls for immediate rate cuts, though he has said he will not remove the Fed chief before his term expires in 2026.

Market participants are also monitoring the impact of Trump's tariff threats on inflation, which could complicate the Fed's policy decision.

In economic data, investors will look for insights from Wednesday's consumer credit report, which could shed light on household demand and debt trends.

Corporate earnings also remain in focus, with results due from Novo Nordisk, Uber Technologies, Walt Disney, Arm Holdings, and MercadoLibre on Wednesday.

Macquarie strategist Thierry Wizman cautioned that traders expecting a dovish shift from the Federal Reserve could be disappointed, highlighting that hopes for a more dovish response to rising policy and political uncertainty were likely misplaced, as reported by Bloomberg.

In the latest market moves, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) closed Tuesday at $481.41, down 0.93%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) fell 0.84% to $558.80, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) declined 0.98% to $408.24. 

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) ended the day down 1.09% at $196.77.

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