S&P 500 futures traded higher Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and subsequent press conference slated for the afternoon. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.13%. Nasdaq-100 futures rose by 0.1%, while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 86 points, or about 0.3%. Aside from the Fed’s policy announcement, investors are preparing for Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks to the media, where he may give insight into the state of the economy and the central bank’s path forward. Markets see a 90% chance that the central bank will keep rates at the current target of 5% to 5.25%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. This would be a reprieve from rate hikes following a streak of 10 straight increases. May’s producer price index, an indicator of the path of inflation, is due on Wednesday morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate a decline of 0.1%. On Tuesday, May’s reading of the consumer price index, which showed the lowest annual increase in more than two years, bolstered investor hopes that the Fed will not raise interest rates. That optimism pushed the market higher on Tuesday. The 30-stock Dow added nearly 146 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq touched their highest levels since last April during the session. “The market was supported by the CPI report indicating that inflation continues to edge lower, and that the Fed will ‘skip’ tomorrow for a rate announcement,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial. “Much depends on tomorrow’s FOMC statement and Jerome Powell’s answers during the press conference.” Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as the inflation in the U.S. rose at a 4% annual rate in May, the lowest in two years, giving room for the Federal Reserve to pause and skip a rate hike in its June meeting. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 popped 1.47% to close at 33,502.42, recording its fifth straight session of gains. The Topix also climbed 1.31% to end at 2,294.53, its highest level this year. Shares of Toyota rose to mark the highest in 16 months after the company’s shareholders voted to retain Akio Toyoda as its chairman in a broad endorsement of its strategy. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.32% to end at 7,161.7 in a third-straight daily gain. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.82%, while mainland Chinese markets were more mixed, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.14% and the Shenzhen Component up 0.26%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.72% to end the day at 2,619.08, continuing to retreat from its year high on June 9, while the Kosdaq tumbled 2.79% to close at 871.83 as the nation’s unemployment rate returned to a record low of 2.5% seen last August. Oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s June meeting after bullish oil demand growth forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC. Brent crude futures were up 80 cents, or 1.1%, at $75.09 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 70 cents, or 1%, at $70.12. Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday on expectations of a interest rate pause at the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting concluding later in the day, while a softer dollar also boosted bullion. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,950.19 per ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,963.40.