The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.5%, the Nasdaq Composite index is off 4.85% and the S&P 500 index is down 0.85%. S&P 500 futures advanced 1.6 points and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 4 points.

Another quarter-point rate hike from the Federal Open Market Committee to 3.25% is expected. An announcement is expected at 2:15 p.m.

Crude oil prices were little changed in Asian trading Thursday, hovering above $57. By mid-afternoon in Singapore, light, sweet crude for August delivery gained 4 cents to $57.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Asian electronic trading.

Heating oil was up almost a cent to $1.6114 a gallon, while gasoline was marginally higher to $1.5915 a gallon.

Overnight in London, Brent crude futures for August delivery shed $1 to settle at $56.20 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.

The U.S. dollar gained ground vs. other major currencies in European trading Thursday. The euro was quoted at $1.2056, down from $1.2072 Wednesday in New York. The greenback was quoted at110.53 Japanese yen, up from 110.39. The British pound was quoted at $1.7950, down from $1.8046.

European shares are trading near the flat line Thursday, as investors await U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision later today. The German DAX 30 index gained 0.1% at 4,587.22 and the French CAC 40 index advanced 0.02% to 4,232.71. London's FTSE 100 index edged up 0.1% to 5,113.5.

Shares in Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB Ltd. (ABB: chart) declined 8.9% in Switzerland after the company warned 2Q net income will be significantly lower than the $199 million in the first quarter, and planned a reorganization of its global transformer business that involves cutting 1,300 jobs, or 10% of the global workforce.

Asian had a mixed start Thursday but most finished higher. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed almost flat, gaining 6.57 points to 11,584.01. The Topix index of all first section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange advanced 0.1%, or 0.72 point, to 1,177.20. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3%, or 14.50 points, at 4,277.50. South Korea's Kopsi index gained 0.9%, or 9.08 points, to 1,008. Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.2%, or 10.29 points, to end at 6,241.94.

Toyota Motor Corp. ((TM) advanced 1.3% after news it and the country's other two top carmakers, Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY: chart) and Honda Motor Co. (HMC: chart), lifted domestic production in May to satisfy growing demand. Honda stock was up 0.2% and Nissan rose 0.6%.

Sony Corp. (SNE: chart) closed flat. The company announced Wednesday it will close its factory in Bridgend, south Wales, by the end of the financial year in a radical shakeup of its British operations which will reduce 650 U.K. jobs.

Shares of Bank of America Corp. (BAC: chart) will be eyed after the company revealed its plans to buy credit-card provider MBNA Corp. (KRB: chart) for about $35 billion.

Boeing Co. (BA: chart) and 3M Co. (MMM: chart) will also be in focus after the news that the aircraft maker is expected to name 3M's chairman and chief executive to that top post at Boeing.