Wall Street set to open lower ahead of Fed decision

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open lower on Wednesday as investors shifted their focus from the Turkish central bank's bold interest-rate hike to the U.S. Federal Reserve's impending decision later in the day on its monthly bond-buying program.

* Global equity markets got a boost from Turkey's central bank, which stunned investors with a dramatic rate hike designed to defend its crumbling currency. The move boosted investors' hopes that a vicious cycle of selling in emerging markets may have been short-circuited.

* Market participants have turned their focus to the U.S. Fed's two-day policy meeting which ends Wednesday, the outcome of which will be announced at 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT).

* South Africa's Reserve Bank raised interest rates for the first time in nearly six years on Wednesday, in step with other emerging market economies that have tightened monetary policy to shore up their declining currencies.

* S&P 500 e-mini futures fell 11.4 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 76 points and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 23 points.

* Boeing Inc fell nearly 4 percent, reversing earlier gains after it reported a 26 jump in quarterly profit due to a rise in commercial aircraft deliveries.

* Dow Chemical Co shares rose 6.5 percent in premarket trading after raising its dividend 15 percent and expanding its share buyback program to $4.5 billion from $1.5 billion. The company reported a quarterly profit well ahead of expectations.

* Yahoo Inc shares fell nearly 5 percent in premarket trading, a day after announcing a decline in online ad prices which hurt its revenue for a fourth consecutive quarter. Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant in which it owns a big stake, saw revenue growth decelerate from its recent rip-roaring pace.

* Facebook is scheduled to report results after market's close.

* U.S. stocks bounced back on Tuesday after Pfizer's upbeat results gave investors some relief from the pain of the Dow's five-day losing streak, and the market's focus turned to the Federal Reserve's next move on stimulus.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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