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U.S. Stock futures traded flat Wednesday morning as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's final monetary policy decision of 2021 and weighed the central bank's potential response to persistent inflationary pressures.

At 8:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 16 points, or 0.05%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 0.75 point, or 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 9.25 points, or 0.06%.

All eyes on Wednesday will be on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement and press conference by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Many market participants expect these will set the stage for the Fed to speed the withdrawal of its crisis-era stimulus programs, with the firming economic recovery and soaring inflation suggesting the central bank has room for a more hawkish tilt to policy.

Last week's Consumer Price Index showed the fastest surge in U.S. consumer prices since 1982 on a year-over-year basis in November. And on Tuesday, the U.S. Producer Price Index jumped by the most on record at a 9.6% year-over-year increase for last month.

Specifically, many investors anticipate the Fed will ramp up the rate of tapering of its asset-purchasing program, which took place at a rate of $120 billion per month in combined Treasuries and agency mortgage-backed securities from the start of the pandemic through November. Last month, the Fed began dialing back these purchases by $15 billion, and announced another $15 billion reduction for December.

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket:

Toyota – Toyota gained 2.2% in premarket trading, after announcing it would produce a record 800,000 vehicles in January. Toyota is ramping up output to make up for prior production lost to parts shortages.

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. – Vir Biotechnology, Inc. is rallying 4.3% in the premarket, putting it in position to rise for a fifth straight day. The drugmaker announced further data showing that its Covid-19 antibody therapy – developed in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline(GSK) – was effective against the omicron variant.

Eli Lilly and – The drugmaker raised its 2022 profit and revenue forecast ahead of today’s meeting with the investment community, noting that it is on track to meet its goal of delivering 20 new treatments in the 10-year period through 2023. Lilly moved higher by 4.7% in the premarket.

R.R.Donnelley – R.R.Donnelley agreed to be acquired by Chatham Asset Management – the printing company’s top shareholder – for about $897 million. Donnelley terminated an earlier buyout deal it reached with private equity firm Atlas Holdings after determining that Chatham’s bid was a “superior proposal.” The stock fell 2.8% in the premarket.

Domino's Pizza – Domino’s fell 2.1% in premarket trading after Barclays downgraded the stock to “underweight” from “equal weight.” Barclays said solid fundamentals and Covid headwinds in the industry as a whole helped Domino’s outperform during the pandemic, but noted that those headwinds for its competitors are now fading.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals – Regeneron was downgraded to “market perform” from “outperform” at Bernstein, which cites the risk to Regeneron’s best-selling eye drug Eylea from the future release of biosimilars. Regeneron slid 1.8% in the premarket.

Six Flags Entertainment – The theme park operator’s stock rose 2.2% in the premarket after Goldman Sachs upgraded it to “buy” from “neutral,” noting resilient ticket pricing as well as guidance from Six Flags that Goldman considers conservative.

Hostess Brands Inc – The maker of Twinkies and other snack foods was rated “buy” in new coverage at Citi, which said Hostess is exiting the pandemic in a strong position with innovation driving market share gains. Hostess was up 1.1% in the premarket.

United Parcel Service Inc – UBS named the delivery service’s stock as a “top pick,” saying UPS should benefit from increased consumer spending and that it has a greater chance of margin expansion than its rivals. UPS rose 1.1% in premarket trading.

Cabot Microelectronics – The advanced materials supplier agreed to be acquired by rivalEntegris(ENTG) in a cash-and-stock deal. Based on Tuesday’s closing prices, the transaction is worth $197.53 per CMC share, compared with CMC’s Tuesday close of $145.97. Entegris fell 3% in the premarket.

Bloomin – The Outback Steakhouse parent surged 5.3% in premarket trading after Jefferies added the stock to its “franchise picks” list, saying the company was positioned to benefit from positive structural changes in the casual dining category.