Futures advance ahead of two-day Fed meet

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as upbeat data from China revived optimism around an economic rebound, while investors looked for more stimulus from the Federal Reserve as the central bank kicks off a two-day meeting.

In its first policy meeting since Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced a more accommodative stance on inflation, the central bank could switch its Treasury purchases toward more long-dated debt to keep long-term yields low, some strategists said.

Expectations from the Fed have increased amid a stalemate in talks for fiscal relief and a sharp pullback in heavyweight technology stocks earlier this month that brought Wall Street’s dramatic stimulus-fuelled rally to a halt.

U.S. stocks rebounded sharply on an active merger Monday, with signs of progress in developing a coronavirus vaccine also boosting demand for risk assets.

On Tuesday, data showed China’s industrial output accelerated the most in eight months in August, while retail sales grew for the first time this year, lifting Asian and European stocks.

Later in the day U.S. data is likely to show industrial production slowed in August.

Among stocks, Apple Inc (O:AAPL) rose 1.7% ahead of a virtual product launch event, where it is expected to unveil updated watches and iPads, but no iPhones.

At 6:17 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 165 points, or 0.59%. S&P 500 e-minis were up 22.5 points, or 0.67% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 105 points, or 0.93%.