Wall Street aims for a second gain, Putin speech buoyant

2014-03-18 09:07:01

(MENAFN– ecpulse) U.S. stock futures inched higher, paring the early drop and going into the second day of gains, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Crimean people are taking a choice to join Russia.

Russia’s President called for a treaty to accept Crimea’s accession. Putin’s move came less than 24 hours after the U.S. and European Union imposed sanctions on some Russians and Crimeans who have helped annex the Ukrainian territory.

Crimea voted on March 16 to leave Ukraine and become a part of Russia. The regional parliament called the plebiscite after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country following protests against his rule.

Russia is not backing away from plans to annex Ukraine`s Crimea region despite targeted sanctions announced Monday.

And a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting is injecting some uncertainty into the markets.

U.S. stock futures were notably higher as investors look forward to build on Monday’s gains that helped major indices rise around 1%.

-Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.390% to 16229

-Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.389% to 1857.70

-Futures on the NASDAQ 100 gained 0.349% to 3664.20 . As of 08:06 a.m. ET

Investors are also monitoring Janet Yellen`s first meeting as head of the Fed. The two-day meeting, which kicks off Tuesday , is expected to yield a continued winding down of the central bank`s stimulus program .

Coming up shortly at 08:30 a.m., the Commerce Department will release data on housing starts and building permits.

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