US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday, as investors braced for the final Fed rate decision of the year.

By 03:53 ET (08:53 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 69 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were up 4 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 23 points, or 0.1%.

The main Wall Street indices ended lower on Tuesday with the Dow down for a ninth straight session, as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the Fed decision.

Data on Tuesday showed that retail sales rose more than expected in November, indicating that consumer spending, a major driver of economic growth, remains solid.

The Federal Reserve concludes its final policy meeting of the year later Wednesday, with a 25-basis point rate cut almost fully priced in by markets.

With a rate cut already baked in investors are instead focusing on the Fed's economic projections and comments from Chair Jerome Powell, for any insights on how aggressive the U.S. central bank may be in cutting rates in 2025.

Goldman Sachs expects the Fed to stand pat in January against earlier expectations for a cut, after unemployment has undershot and inflation has overshot the FOMC’s projections.

Analysts at Standard Chartered expect the Fed to follow up with another rate cut in January amid ongoing softness in the labor market.

"Our baseline forecast is that it cuts again on 29 January, because we expect the incoming labour market data to soften further," the bank said, in a recent note.