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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Investors and traders are waiting for the central bank to outline plans to wind down its massive stimulus program, which has helped support a robust stock market rally over the past year.
The central bank will announce its latest decision on interest rates at 2:00 p.m. ET, followed by a press conference featuring Fed chair Ben Bernanke at 2:30. Investors will be parsing the bank's communications for indications of when it may wind down its stimulus, which involves $85 billion per month in bond purchases.
Investors are split over when the wind-down -- or taper -- will take place. Some are expecting the rollback to start this year, while others are convinced it will be pushed back to 2014.
FxPro's chief economist Simon Smith says he sees a 40% chance that the Fed will announce a wind-down plan Wednesday.
U.S. stock futures were edging higher ahead of the opening bell, with the S&P 500 index rising by roughly 0.3%.
Related: Fear & Greed Index
Firms including FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) and General Mills (GIS, Fortune 500) are scheduled to report quarterly results ahead of the opening bell. Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) is set to report results after the market close.
On the economic side, the Census Bureau will release data on housing starts and building permits at 8:30 a.m.
U.S. stocks finished flat Tuesday.
Related: Why is saving money so hard?
In world markets, European stocks were on an upward march in morning trading. The main indexes were rising by roughly 0.5%.
In the U.K., new official data showed a large drop in unemployment to 7.4% for the three months to October. This caused the pound to rally versus other currencies.
Asian markets ended with some mixed numbers. Japan's Nikkei stood out from the pack after rallying 2%, in part based on optimism about a further weakening yen, which would boost exports for the country.
First Published: December 18, 2013: 5:11 AM ET
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