1. Preparing for a rate hike

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday.

The last time the Fed hiked rates was December 2015.

After the interest rate decision is announced, market attention will turn to Fed chair Janet Yellen's press conference at 19:30 GMT.

President-elect Donald Trump has criticized Yellen for keeping interest rates low, raising questions about the central bank's political independence.

2. Trump to meet with Tech giants

Top executives from Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook and half a dozen other large tech companies are expected to meet with Trump at 19:00 GMT.

The focus of the meeting is supposed to be jobs, but it's also expected the executives will discuss trade, corporate tax reform and immigration, among other issues.

Tech leaders across Silicon Valley were broadly supportive of Hillary Clinton. Trump has repeatedly attacked tech companies.

3. Global market overview and earnings

Stock markets around the world are looking a bit weak and investors are bidding up sovereign bond prices.

The real action will likely happen when markets get to react to the Fed announcement and press conference.

U.S. stock futures also look soft despite all three major U.S. indexes closing at record highs on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average is now less than 100 points away from the 20,000 mark.

European markets are slipping a bit in early trading. Asian markets ended the day with mixed results.

Consumer confidence numbers surged following the tumultuous U.S. presidential election campaign. But did that lead Americans to actually spend more? November retail sales are due at 13:30 GMT.

4. Dollar steady before the announcement

The dollar held steady against other major currencies on Wednesday, as markets were jittery ahead of the Federal Reserve’s long-awaited monetary policy decision due later in the day.

EUR/USD was little changed at 1.0631.

The Fed is widely expected to hike rates for the first time in a year on at the conclusion of its meeting later Wednesday.

The U.S. central bank will also announce updated economic forecasts and markets will be watching closely for signals on the outlook for inflation and the expected pace of rate hikes in 2017.