By Abhiram Nandakumar
REUTERS - U.S. stock indexes were set to open higher on Tuesday as oil edged up in a volatile session and investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting and Apple's results.
Crude prices were hovering around $30 a barrel on hopes that OPEC and non-OPEC producers would come together to tackle a massive supply glut.
Global stocks came under pressure after data showed a steep fall in rail freight in the world's second largest economy, raising concerns about a China-led global slowdown.
Investors are still reeling from a turbulent start to the year, which saw Wall Street post its worst-ever start to a new year. A recovery late last week was largely wiped out on Monday as a fall in energy and materials stocks pulled indexes lower.
"It's going to go back and forth, and it looks like it's going to all depend on what the price of oil does today," said Matthew Tuttle, chief executive, Tuttle Tactical Management in Greenwich, Connecticut.
"Expect more of the usual - lots of volatility - and it will be interesting to see if the bulls rally this thing or the bears try to sell it off," Tuttle said, adding that the Fed would be a wild card.
The Federal Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting on interest rates later on Tuesday, its first since raising rates in December, with a statement due on Wednesday.
While the Fed is not expected to move on rates this week, rattled investors will parse the commentary to gauge the impact of the recent global turmoil on the central bank's outlook.
Based on trading in short-term interest-rate futures, investors are expecting the Fed to raise rates only once this year, and that too not until June, instead of four expected earlier.
At 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT), Dow e-minis were up 43 points, or 0.27 percent, with 52,207 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 e-minis were up 5.75 points, or 0.31 percent, with 339,589 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 11 points, or 0.26 percent, on volume of 53,024 contracts.
Corporate earnings reports are likely to offer little cheer, with S&P 500 companies expected to report a 4.5 percent drop in quarterly profit.
Apple is scheduled to report quarterly results after the close, as is AT&T. The iPhone maker's comments on its China business will be in sharp focus, amid broader concerns of a slowdown in demand.
Coach was up 4.5 percent at $31.73 after the handbag maker reported its first rise in quarterly sales in 10 quarters.
Dow components 3M was up 1.8 percent at $140 and Procter & Gamble was up 1.5 percent at $78 after both reported better-than-expected results.
(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
