US pre-open: Futures mixed ahead of FOMC decision, tech earnings

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures pointed to a mixed open ahead of the bell on Wednesday as investors look ahead to big tech earnings and the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision. As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.04%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.06% and 0.43% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 136.77 points higher on Tuesday, clawing back some of the previous session's AI-fuelled losses.

Wednesday's primary focus will be the outcome of the FOMC's two-day monetary policy meeting, with its decision and a speech from chairman Jerome Powell both slated for 1900 GMT.

Outside of central bank headlines, tech giants Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla will all report quarterly earnings after the close.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "US stock index futures were modestly firmer in early trade this morning in what should be an eventful session. The full implications of Monday's news may not be fully priced in. While China's threat to US dominance across generative AI could continue to weigh on tech giants like Nvidia, there could be new opportunities. There's now a high probability of new entrants emerging into this space. This follows both the open-source nature of DeepSeek's work, and the fact that it apparently did it at such low cost. If this is the case, Monday's sell-off in anything related to nuclear and natural gas seems premature. New AI may be less energy intensive, but there could be many more sources clamouring for electricity.

"AI aside, the Federal Reserve concludes a two-day monetary policy meeting this evening. There's very little likelihood of any change in rates. But investors will be keen to read the accompanying statement and to hear what Fed Chair Jerome Powell says in his subsequent press conference. This will be the first Fed meeting of the second Trump presidency."

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 2% week-on-week in the seven days ended 24 January, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, as benchmark mortgage rates remained above the 7% threshold despite a drop in long-dated Treasury yields. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell 7%, while applications to purchase a new home slipped 0.4%.

Still to come, a preliminary reading of January's goods trade balance and wholesale inventories will be published at 1330 GMT.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com