Stock futures rose Wednesday as investors parsed the latest earnings reports and readied for the Federal Reserve monetary policy decision. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 76 points, or about 0.2%. S&P 500 futures popped 1.1%, and Nasdaq-100 futures climbed nearly 1.9%. In premarket trading, Advanced Micro Devices climbed roughly 7.5% as second-quarter results topped consensus forecasts. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia climbed about 6.8% on the back of AMD’s report, and after Morgan Stanley named the stock a top pick. Microsoft shares, meanwhile, shed 2% before the bell as its cloud business disappointed Wall Street. Boeing added nearly 2% after announcing a new chief executive officer. The aerospace company also reported a wider-than-expected loss and disappointing revenue for the second quarter. Humana, meanwhile, slid about 7% after posting weak guidance. Carvana and Qualcomm are among the names set to report after the close. The Fed is slated to wrap its two-day policy meeting Wednesday. The central bank is expected to keep rates steady, but the focus will be on chair Jerome Powell and whether he offers any signs that cuts may be on the near horizon. “Investors are expecting a strong signal for a September rate cut by the Fed,” said Bryce Doty, senior portfolio manager at Sit Investment Associates. “But it’s difficult for the Fed to sound overly confident on a future rate cut because that will beg the question, ‘Why not cut now?’ Consequently, investors are likely to be disappointed by the tone and posture of the Fed meeting.” Wall Street is also set to wrap up a choppy month of trading. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are tracking to end July down 0.4% and 3.3%, respectively. The Dow and Russell 2000 index of small-cap socks are slated to finish the month higher by more than 4% and 9%, respectively. That underscores the market rotation’s boost to stocks that are smaller and more cyclically oriented. U.S. Treasury yields were slightly lower on Wednesday as investors awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting and hoped for clues about the interest rate outlook. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by about two basis points at 4.122%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last down more than one basis point at 4.342%. Asia-Pacific markets rose Wednesday as investors assessed China’s business activity data, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 reversing course to log gains after the country’s central bank raised benchmark interest rates to around 0.25%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.49%, reversing earlier losses and closing at 39,101.82, while the broad-based Topix gained 1.45% to 2,794.26. The country’s retail sales climbed 3.7% year on year in June, beating expectations of a 3.2% rise from economists polled by Reuters. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1.75% to hit a record high of 8,092.3 after the inflation report. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.19%, ending at 2,770.69, with heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumping 3.58% as the firm reported a whopping 1,458.2% year on year rise in second-quarter operating profit. The small-cap Kosdaq was down marginally, finishing at 803.15. Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 2.26% as of its final hour of trade, leading Asian markets, with HSBC’s Hong Kong shares gaining 3% after the bank’s profit beat estimates and it announced a $3 billion share buyback program. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 2% to close at 3,442.08, powered by real estate and healthcare stocks. U.S. crude oil futures jumped more than 3% on Wednesday after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, renewing fears that Middle East is teetering on the brink of a regional war. West Texas Intermediate September contract: $77.28 per barrel, up $2.55, or 3.51%. Year to date, U.S. oil has gained 7.9%. Brent September contract: $80.73 per barrel, up $2.10, or 2.67%. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead 4.8%. Gold prices firmed on Wednesday following the killing of Hamas leader in Iran, with the metal heading for a monthly gain driven by optimism about potential U.S. interest rate cuts as focus shifts to the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy decision. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $2,420.41 per ounce, as of 0951 GMT, and has gained more than 4% for the month. U.S. gold futures added 0.6% to $2,418.60. The dollar index was down 0.4%. A weaker dollar makes bullion more attractive to buyers holding other currencies.