Equity markets finished higher last night as expectations rose that the US Federal Reserve will maintain its monetary stimulus. The US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is currently meeting and will release its decisions regarding QE on Wednesday morning. The S&P/ASX200 finished 34.13 points higher (0.71%) at 4825.88 while SPI futures are up 11 points at 7.39am AEST. The Australian dollar is trading at US95.44c at 7.39am AEST, down from Monday's local close of US96.21c.