U.S. stock index futures held modest gains across the board Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes and following upbeat economic news from China.
Minutes from the most recent Fed meeting suggested that a few policymakers expected to slow the pace of asset purchases by midyear and end them later this year, while several others expected to taper the rate a bit later and halt the program by year-end.
Under its current quantitative easing program, the Fed purchases $85 billion in Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities each month.
In addition, policymakers were worried about increased risks due to the central bank's aggressive monetary stimulus, though most saw those dangers as "manageable" for now.
The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its latest Federal Open Markets Committee Meeting several hours earlier than planned. The minutes were inadvertently released to about 100 Congressional staffers and trade lobbyists shortly after 2pm ET Tuesday, according to a Federal Reserve spokesperson.