Easing Oil Bills, Tech Strength Lifts Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia, Europe Up

07:18 AM EDT, 09/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Wall Street futures pointed moderately higher pre-bell Wednesday as global crude oil prices eased, tech shares gained, and traders awaited a pending rate decision by the US central bank. In the futures, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq inclined 0.5% and the Dow Jones was up 0.2%. The Federal Reserve will disclose at 2 pm ET its latest rate decision, followed by Chair Kevin Warsh's 2:30 pm press conference. The CME FedWatch indicator calculates a 92.5% chance the Fed will lift rates by 0.25%. Investors will also watch the August retail sales release from Washington, slated for an 8:30 am ET release, for clues to how domestic consumers are faring under higher energy bills. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures traded down 2.3% at $103.42 a barrel in morning action. Saudi Arabia is expanding ship-to-ship crude transfers off Oman's Sohar port, after its key oil pipeline to the Red Sea was damaged by Houthi attacks, reported Reuters. The VanEck Semiconductor fund (SMH) traded up 1.2% pre-bell. Asian exchanges traded higher overnight on tech sector gains and easing oil prices. European bourses tracked moderately north midday on the continent. On the economic calendar, in addition to the retail sales report and the Fed rate announcement, is the import and export prices bulletin for August at 8:30 am ET. The business inventories for July report and housing market index for September release log at 10 am. The weekly EIA petroleum status report posts at 10:30 am. In premarket action, Bitcoin traded at $75,899, and 10-year US Treasuries offered 4.99%. Spot gold commanded $4,348 an ounce.