US pre-open: Stocks set for slightly higher start

Stocks were set to start the session slightly lower ahead of a raft of economic data yet with investors' focus firmly on the US Federal Reserve's policy decision the next day.

As of 1310 BST, futures on the Dow Jones Industrials were pointing to a 16.0 point rise at the start of the day to 22,315.00, alongside a gain of 2.0 points for the S & P 500 mini to 2,504.75 and an advance of 6.75 points to 5,993.50 on the Nasdaq-100.

Also garnering attention was an expected speech by US president Donald Trump at the UN's New York headquarters scheduled for later in the day.

Following their two days of meetings, on Wednesday rate-setters at the central bank were expected to announce the start of their balance sheet tapering, which many analysts appeared to believe would go largely unnoticed because it had been clearly 'telegraphed' for some time now.

However, there was slight uncertainty about by just how much the Fed would adjust its guidance for interest rate increases over the next two years, although quite a few analysts appeared to be rather skeptical that it would be able to raise the Fed funds rate by more than twice or thrice by year-end 2018.

Commenting on the market backdrop, Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank told clients: "there are a number of areas of the global financial system that look at extreme levels. This includes valuations in many asset classes, the unique size of central bank balance sheets, sky high debt levels, ultra-low interest rates and even the level of potentially game-changing populist political support around the globe.

"If there is a crisis relatively soon (within the next 2-3 years), it would be hard to look at these variables and say that there was no way of spotting them in advance."

A raft of economic reports was scheduled for release before the opening bell, including housing starts for August, second quarter current account data and import price figures for August, all at 1330 BST.

In corporate news, it was all about Toys R' Us after the toy retailer succumbed to pressure from its digital rivals, forcing it to file for Chapter 11.

The news was also dragging down rivals such as Mattel.

In parallel, Walgreen's announced plans to buy 1,932 establishments and three distribution centres from rival Rite Aid for $4.38bn.

Post Holdings was also in the headlines after disclosing it would buy Bob Evans Farms's equity for roughly $1.5bn.

Shares in AutoZone were also likely to find a bid after posting better-than-expected top and bottom line figures for its fiscal fourth quarter.