Stock futures buoyed by Japanese stimulus
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)—U.S. stock index futures held small gains Wednesday after the Bank of Japan moved to boost the size of its asset-purchase program, helping to offset nervousness surrounding a territorial dispute between Japan and China.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (CBOT JZ2) rose 26 points, or 0.2%, to 13,525.

S&P 500 Index futures (GLC:SPZ2) gained 2.6 points to 1,455.50, while Nasdaq-100 futures (CME:NDZ2) rose 8 points to 2,858.

Another slug of [quantitative easing]—this time by the Bank of Japan—has given equity markets more momentum in overnight trade and is paving the way for a higher start on Wall Street,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist at GFT Markets, in emailed comments.

The moves “seem to be eclipsing the standoff between Japan and China at least for now, although any further suggestions that Beijing—as Japan’s biggest creditor—should use this position as leverage would certainly be cause for concern,” Razaqzada said.

Coming less than a week after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it would embark on a third round of quantitative easing, the Bank of Japan on Wednesday said it would provide more monetary stimulus in response to a slowing domestic economy. The bank said it would increase the size of its asset purchases by ¥10 trillion ($126.7 billion) to a total of about ¥80 trillion.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-future...beforebell