Stocks: Wall Street opened sharply higher on Wednesday ahead of a widely anticipated interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve later in the day.
The Fed will announce the outcome of its policy meeting at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), followed by a press conference by Chair Janet Yellen at 2:30 p.m. ET.
An increase in the Fed's benchmark rate, from near zero, would be the first since June 29, 2006.
After more than a year of posturing and a couple of false starts, the U.S. central bank is seen raising rates by a token 25 basis points.
Traders see an 81.4 percent chance of a rate hike, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Forex: The U.S. dollar rose against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday, re-approaching a recent 11-1/2-year peak after strong U.S. housing data and ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision.
USD/CAD hit 1.3779 during early U.S. trade, the pair's highest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3771, gaining 0.27%.
Commodities: U.S. natural gas prices fell to a 14-year low for the third straight session on Wednesday, as updated weather forecasting models pointed to warmer-than-normal temperatures across most parts of the U.S. through Christmas.
The East Coast is projected to see temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above normal this week and warm weather is also expected in the Midwest.
Bearish speculators are betting on the warm pre-winter weather to dampen demand for the heating fuel. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Economic Indicators: The number of housing starts in the U.S. rose strongly in November, and the number of building permits issued also rose sharply.
The upbeat data boosted optimism over the health of the housing sector.
Housing starts jumped 10.5% to an annual unit rate of 1.173 million units from October’s total of 1.062 million units. Analysts had expected an increase of 6.6% to 1.135 million units.
The number of building permits issued rose 11.0% to 1.289 million from October’s total of 1.161 million. Analysts had forecast a decline of 1.0% to 1.150 million units.
Economic Indicators: Industrial production in the U.S. fell for the fourth straight month in November, dampening optimism over the health of the economy, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production decreased by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month, disappointing expectations for a decline of 0.1%. Industrial production fell by 0.4% in September, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported fall of 0.2%.
Economic Indicators: Consumer price inflation in the euro zone was revised up unexpectedly in November, easing concerns over deflationary pressures, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said consumer price inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, up from a preliminary estimate of 0.1%. Euro zone inflation rose by 0.1% in October.
The rate has now been below 1% for 26 straight months, well under the European Central Bank's target of near but just under 2%. Month-over-month, consumer prices inched down 0.1% last month, compared to forecasts for a decline of 0.2% and following a gain of 0.1% in October.
