Stocks open lower as traders digest the Fed announcement

Stock futures are pointing to a modestly lower open on Wednesday, as traders continue to digest the Federal Reserve's indication that it is prepared to provide additional monetary-policy support to the economy. The major index futures are all in negative territory, with the Dow futures down by 21 points.

During trading on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve announced its decision to keep interest rates at record lows, as was widely expected, while the central bank also noted that it is prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support the economic recovery.
Many have been speculating that the next available step in quantitative easing is to renew the purchase of long-dated government bonds.
The news prompted a run-up in treasury and gold prices in the markets. Gold futures have surged up by $20.20 to $1,294.50 an ounce, rapidly approaching the psychologically important $1,300 an ounce mark.
On the economic front, the Federal House Finance Agency, or FHFA, will release its house price index for July at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Shortly afterward, the Energy Information Administration will release its customary oil inventory report for the week ended September 17th at 10:30 a.m. ET. Ahead of the report, crude oil futures are up by $0.59 at $75.56 a barrel.
In other news, the White House announced that Lawrence Summers, the director of President Barack Obama's National Economic Council, will be stepping down before the end of the year.
Summers, who is the chief White House advisor to the President on the development and implementation of economic policy and leads Obama's daily economic briefing, will return to his post at Harvard University, the White House said.
On the corporate front, software giant Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) announced that its board approved a 23 percent increase in its quarterly dividend or an increase of $0.03 to $0.16 per share.
In earnings news, General Mills Inc. (GIS) reported adjusted first-quarter net income of $0.64 per share while analysts expected the firm to earn $0.63 per share. Net sales for the period came in at $3.53 billion, short of estimates that called for revenues of $3.57 billion.
After the markets closed for trading in the previous session, publishing and design software maker Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) said its third quarter profit rose 69 percent from last year, coming in above analysts' expectations. However, the company provided disappointing fourth quarter guidance.
Business service provider Cintas Corp. (CTAS), said that its first-quarter profit increased 13.5 percent over last year, due mainly to the absence of a litigation charge that impacted year-ago results. Quarterly earnings came in ahead of the analysts' expectations, as did revenue.

Due to its share buyback program, Cintas raised its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2011 while reiterating the revenue forecast.

While the markets initially rallied following the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement on Tuesday, stocks were unable to sustain the upward move and slid back to the downside going into the close, ending the day mostly lower.
The Dow inched up by 7 points to 10,761, while the Nasdaq slid by 6 points to 2,349 and the S&P 500 declined by 3 points to 1,140.
Overseas, stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region ended on a mixed note. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index inched up by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are all down by varied margins. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.5 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 1 percent.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is down against the euro, trading at $1.3371, while it is up against the pound at $1.5634. Versus the yen, the dollar is down at 84.69 yen.