US stocks head for higher open ahead of Fed decision

US stocks are headed for a higher open after the Commerce Department reported that orders for big-ticket items were unchanged last month.

The department is reporting Wednesday that orders for durable goods -- which include aircraft and machinery but also consumer items like cars, refrigerators and computers -- were unchanged in May, compared with analysts' expectations of a 1.1 percent decrease. The report indicates that orders for aircraft and computers offset weakness elsewhere.

Wall Street was headed for a higher open before the report, which added only moderately to those gains. The market is focusing on the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates expected during the afternoon.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 36, or 0.30 percent, at 11,849.

(Agencies)