U.S. Stock Futures, Global Markets Slightly Higher Ahead of Fed

        Global stock markets rose slightly Wednesday, but investors remained cautious ahead of a policy statement from the Federal Reserve that could offer clues on the path of U.S. interest rates.
        The slight gains in European stocks and U.S. stock futures followed a rebound in Chinese shares after a three-day slump that knocked 11% off the value of China's main stock index.
        The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5%, building on Tuesday's 1.1% gain.
        In the U.S., futures contracts showed the S&P 500 opening 0.2% higher. Futures, however, don't always accurately predict moves after the opening bell.
        The Fed's two-day policy meeting ends Wednesday and the central bank will release its policy statement at 2 p.m. EDT. The Fed isn't expected to raise short-term interest rates Wednesday. However, officials could offer hints about the timing of such a move by tweaking their description of the economy and whether it is approaching their goals.
        "We're looking for any small changes in language on the margin but don't expect anything committal at this point," said Christopher Chapman, a London-based portfolio manager at Manulife Asset Management, adding that many investors are taking a "wait-and-see approach" ahead of the statement.
        While uncertainty around the timing of the first rate increase could prompt wider stock swings, many investors say the market should be able to withstand the first few rate increases as the overall level of rates is expected to remain low.
        Kent Engelke, chief economic strategist at Capitol Securities Management, said he has been reassuring clients that the eventual increase in rates, which hasn't happened since 2006, isn't bad news for the stock market. "It's positive because it's a sign of strength in the economy," said Mr. Engelke. A stronger economy brightens the outlook for corporate profits and future stock-market gains, he added.
        Corporate earnings also attracted attention. Anthem Inc. said Wednesday its revenue rose 8.4% in its second quarter, beating expectations, and the insurer bumped up its full-year guidance for medical enrollment growth. Shares rose 2.5% premarket.
        Gilead Sciences Inc. said Tuesday its two key hepatitis C drugs generated about $4.9 billion in sales in the second quarter, topping Wall Street estimates. The company again raised its guidance for net product sales for the year. Shares rose 4.1% premarket.
        Twitter Inc. said late Tuesday its second-quarter revenue rose 61%, outpacing expectations. Still, the company remains unprofitable and showed almost no growth in its core users. Harsh comments from Twitter executives about the company's slow user growth, as well as the acknowledgment that Twitter isn't yet a mass-market product, sapped investor enthusiasm for Twitter's results. Shares fell 10% premarket.
        In commodity markets, crude-oil futures fell 0.7% to $47.66 a barrel. Gold futures slipped 0.1% to $1094.70 an ounce.
        Write to Josie Cox at josie.cox@wsj.com and Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        July 29, 2015 08:30 ET (12:30 GMT)

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