Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.25% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.19% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.32% gain.
Although most market participants seemed to believe the Fed will not announce any new stimulus measures this week, investors were eyeing the outcome of the two-day meeting for hints of additional measures in the near future.
Meanwhile, expectations have been building that the ECB will announce measures to stem the long running debt crisis after central bank head Mario Draghi pledged last week to do whatever is necessary to preserve the euro.
But investors remained wary amid concerns that an inadequate policy response by the ECB could send markets lower.
Among earnings, Hertz was expected to be in focus, after the car rental company posted a quarterly profit that beat market expectations as margins improved.
Strong demand from business and leisure travelers was said to have boosted business at U.S. hotels and airlines, which helped car rental companies. Hertz shares surged 3.48% in after hour trade.
Meanwhile, General Motors advanced 0.57% in late trading, amid reports the ousting of its global marketing chief, Joel Ewanick, was related to a hugely expensive sponsorship deal with England's Manchester United soccer club for which GM is paying twice as much as the team's previous automotive sponsor.
GM announced Ewanick’s resignation on Monday, a little more than two years after he joined the company to lead an overhaul of the company’s marketing strategy.
Also in the auto sector, Toyota was reportedly set to raise its 2012 global sales forecast to 8.8 million vehicles from the 8.58 million it had announced in February, thanks to solid auto sales in emerging economies.
Oil and gas major BP was also expected to be in the spotlight, as shares tumbled 387% in pre-market trade after the group reported a loss in the second quarter, due to lower output, falling oil prices and a near USD5.0-billion write down on the value of assets.
Other stocks in focus included Aetna, Electronic Arts, Goodyear, Pfizer and Valero Energy, all due to report results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.18%, France’s CAC 40 eased up 0.02%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.43%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.36%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.08%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.69%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on house price inflation, a report on consumer confidence and data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area.
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