Stock futures rise as Fed hints at possible rate hike in 2026; Kospi hits over 9,000 for the first time: Live updates

Traders work after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. stock futures ticked higher early Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated the possibility of a rate hike this year. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.83% and 1.32%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 282 points, or slightly more than 0.5%. Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed, with South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 jumping to fresh records. The Kospi rose over 1% to hit 9,000 for the first time. Index heavyweight SK Hynix advanced 3.45% to notch a fresh high, while Samsung Electronics rose 1.23%. The small-cap Kosdaq declined 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei 225 traded 1.79% higher to rise above 71,000 for the first time, while the Topix was up 1.48%. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.29%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.76%, while the mainland's CSI 300 was flat. Wednesday marked the first meeting of the Federal Reserve with Kevin Warsh at the helm of the U.S. central bank. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Fed kept the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged and anchored in a range of between 3.5% and 3.75%. Policymakers' "dot plot" revealed that several Fed officials now see interest rates increasing in 2026. …