Stocks to Inch Higher on BOJ Easing

U.S stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday after the Bank of Japan became the latest central bank to offer monetary stimulus, a move which investors hope will boost the global economy.

The BOJ said it would step up bond buying in an announcement that came a month earlier than expected. The news boosted stocks in Asia and Europe and comes hot on the heels of monetary stimulus plans announced by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

Investors will focus on housing data on Wednesday for clues on the health of the economy, starting with weekly mortgage applications at 7 a.m. New York time. The U.S. Commerce Department releases housing starts and permits for August at 8:30 a.m. New York time.

Existing home sales data for August is due to be released at 10 a.m. New York time.

In company news, Goldman Sachs [ GS 119.88 -0.02 ( -0.02% ) ] announced late on Tuesday that senior trading executive Harvey Schwartz would take over as chief financial officer (CFO). He replaces David Viniar, who has been with Goldman for 32 years and spent the last 12 as CFO. Viniar will be stepping down and will join the company's board as non-independent director.

Apple [ AAPL 701.91 2.129 ( +0.3% ) ] and four major publishers have offered to let retailers such as Amazon [ AMZN 258.75 0.75 ( +0.29% ) ] sell e-books at a discount for two years to end an EU antitrust investigation, the European Commission said on Wednesday. Apple shares closed above $700 for the first time on Tuesday, a day after the tech giant said its iPhone 5 sales set a record over the weekend.

Microsoft [ MFST 0.15 --- UNCH ] is another stock in focus on Wednesday. The company increased its quarterly dividend by 15 percent to 23 cents a share.