Stock futures slightly higher ahead of Fed move

U.S. stock futures were mixed Wednesday, as investors weighed Turkey's move to hike interest rates in an effort to stem emerging market turmoil and eagerly awaited the Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the session.

Wall Street expects the Fed to continue to to further reduce its stimulus for the U.S. economy when it wraps up its two-day meeting, despite a hiccup in job growth in December and recent market turbulence in developing markets.

The Fed meeting that concludes today will be the last to be presided over by Ben Bernanke, who is stepping down after eight years as chairman and will be succeeded next week by Vice Chair Janet Yellen. She is expected to stick closely with Bernanke's policies.

Dow Jones industrial average index futures were flat. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 0,1%. Nasdaq index futures were up 0.1%. Investors are still grappling with the potential fallout in developed markets like the U.S. from the recent crisis in emerging markets.

Jitters about emerging economies were soothed by the Turkish central bank's aggressive interest rate hike to stabilize its currency and China's infusion on funds into its banking system. Turkey's central bank hiked overnight lending rate to 12% from 7.75% — a move more aggressive than what most analysts expected.

Turkey's rate hike is viewed as a test case for other emerging market countries. The move is intended to stem capital flight from these countries and combat inflation. The downside is that rising rates can hobble domestic economies as borrowing rates rise.

Wall Street will also be eyeing earnings reports from U.S. companies. Before the opening bell, Dow Chemical topped earnings forecasts by a wide margin and also topped revenue projections. Aircraft maker Boeing also topped both earnings per share and revenue projections.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks broke a losing streak carried over from last week.

The S&P 500 rose 10.94 points, or 0.6%, to 1,792.50. The Dow gained 90.68 poin! ts, or 0.6%, to 15,928.56. The Nasdaq climbed 14.35 points, or 0.4%, to 4,097.96.

TUESDAY: Stocks rise as Dow breaks losing streak

Key benchmarks in Asia advanced on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.7% to 15,383.91 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9% to 22,154.40. China's Shanghai composite was up 0.6% at 2,049.91.

The main regional benchmarks in Europe were firmly higher following the action from Turkey's central bank. Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.7% and Spain's IBEX 35 index added 1.2%. The DAX index in Germany climbed 1%.

Benchmark oil for March delivery was down 48 cents to $96.93 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.69 to settle at $97.41 a barrel on Tuesday.

Contributing: Associated Press