U.S. futures higher, eyes on Fed; Dow Jones up 0.79%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Monday, as investors eyed a highly-anticipated policy statement by the Federal Reserve later in the week.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.79% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.89% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.98% jump.

Stocks were hit last week amid growing expectations that the Fed will to start taper off its bond purchasing program later this year.

Investors were looking ahead to the central bank’s rate statement on Wednesday amid uncertainty over the bank's next move.

Aircraft manufacturers were likely to remain in focus, after Boeing said demand for the 747-8 jumbo jet, its largest and most-expensive model, will recover even as the company stashes some planes in desert storage and slows the production rate.

Separately, Airbus announced an agreement with lessor Doric Asset Finance for 20 A380 superjumbos valued at USD8.1 billion at list price, in a boost for the world’s largest passenger jet.

Chemical producer Rockwood Holdings was also expected to be active, after it agreed to sell German ceramics unit CeramTec to Cinven USD2 billion to focus on its metal business and return cash to shareholders.

Elsewhere in company news, U.S. real-estate investment trust Weyerhaeuser agreed to buy Longview Timber LLC for USD2.65 billion including debt from affiliates of Brookfield Asset Management, marking the third-largest forestry acquisition in North America.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 surged 1.82%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.91%, Germany's DAX advanced 1.43%, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.86%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.22%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.73%.

Later in the day, the G8 group was to hold the first day of a two day summit in Northern Ireland.