US stock futures were mixed ahead of a critical day for markets, with a Fed decision and earnings results from Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) on deck.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) traded flat, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.2%, and contracts for the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) gained 0.3%.
Sentiment in the tech trade has markedly improved this week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting back-to-back gains. Semiconductor stocks drove the rally on Tuesday after Broadcom’s CEO negotiated for a consortium of banks to announce a $63 billion financing structure for building AI compute capacity.
They continued to gain Wednesday after South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix (SKHY, 000660.KS) reported that profits grew 632% year over year. Micron (MU) and Samsung (005930.KS) stocks also rose.
Attention now turns toward the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision at 2 p.m. ET, where the Fed is expected to hold rates steady despite elevated inflation readings. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s press conference will be closely watched for any signs of a hawkish bias. (Follow live updates from the meeting.)
Earnings season continues apace as two Big Tech giants and cloud leaders — Microsoft and Alphabet — deliver updates on AI demand and their capex plans after the bell. Microsoft’s report comes just after it offered buyouts to up to 60,000 employees as it tries to streamline operations amid the AI build-out.
Rounding out the earnings picture are Ford (F), GE Vernova (GEV), T-Mobile US (TMUS), eBay (EBAY), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), and ServiceNow (NOW).
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Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz makes move to buy struggling Wendy’s
Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners has reportedly offered $1.4 billion to buy the struggling fast food giant, according to the Wall Street Journal. Wendy’s shares rose 15% in premarket trading on the news.
Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi reports:
After nearly two years of struggles competing with the likes of behemoths McDonald’s (MCD) and Yum! Brands’ (YUM) Taco Bell, plus upstarts such as Shake Shack (SHAK), Wendy’s is on the cusp of a large number of restaurant closures.
“With one of its largest franchisees filing bankruptcy in September (although contested by WEN given prior termination of franchise agreement), we think investors likely expect closures to tick higher than expected, but we admit visibility on our side remains somewhat limited and there could still be a range of outcomes,” veteran restaurant analyst Andy Barish warned in a recent note. “That said, given our view that there are likely additional franchise operators in the system facing challenges with leveraged balance sheets, higher interest rates and profitability pressures from higher beef, labor & build costs (like many others in QSR), we think it is prudent to moderate our development estimates and bake in more potential closures over the next 6-12 months, as the company works to strengthen its system.”
Robinhood warns its AI agents could make unauthorized trades, sparking legal disputes
Robinhood (HOOD) warned Wednesday that its new artificial intelligence agents could execute unintended trades and expose the online trading platform to new regulatory and legal risks.
Robinhood opened its platform to AI agents brought by customers in May, and began rolling out an in-app version last month. The company warned in its third-quarter regulatory filing that the expansion creates “greater reputational risk” as the technology reaches more investors.
In an interview last month, Robinhood said customers are responsible for trades executed by their agents. But the company now acknowledges that courts or regulators might not uphold its customer agreements that assign responsibility to its customers.
The new warnings were added in the risk factor section of the company’s 10-Q filing. Robinhood shares fell nearly 8% in Wednesday premarket trading after it reported weaker-than-expected third quarter profits Tuesday.
SK Hynix profit jumps 632%, memory chipmaker sees shortage lasting to 2030
US-listed shares of SK Hynix (SKHY) rose 8% in premarket trading on Wednesday, after the memory maker’s record profit and revenue quelled recent investor worries over the AI trade.
South Korean SK Hynix shares (000660.KS) jumped 10% while peer Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) gained 5%. US-based Micron (MU) also rose 2%.
The South Korea-based company reported a 328% jump in quarterly revenue to roughly $78.7 billion, while operating profit surged 632% to about $62.7 billion, delivering an 80% operating margin. Revenue and operating profit increased by 32% and 38%, respectively, from the previous quarter.
Growth was driven by surging AI data center demand, higher memory prices, and early shipments of HBM4, which SK Hynix expects to replace HBM3E as its mainstream product.
Fed expected to hold rates steady this week despite hot inflation — but signal they’re not done hiking
Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger previews what to expect and look for in the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement and press conference on Wednesday afternoon:
The Federal Reserve heads into its interest-rate decision this week facing hotter inflation, keeping the meeting live even as markets widely expect the central bank to hold interest rates steady just days before the midterm elections.
Alan Blinder, a former Fed vice chair and a Princeton University economics professor, is expecting a “hawkish pause.”
Although Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh doesn’t favor telegraphing the central bank’s next move, Blinder said the moment calls for clarity.
“This is a perfect time for clear forward guidance that doesn’t quite say, but strongly hints, we’re pausing now, but we stand ready to raise again and even give a hint that the next meeting might be the next interest rate hike.”
The stock market’s best 6 months of the year start Monday
Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre writes:
The stock market’s favorite season starts Monday. For decades, November through April has beaten the rest of the year by a mile.
That’s the Halloween indicator, also called the “best six months” or “sell in May.” Buy stocks at the end of October, hold them through April, then step aside for the summer.
Yale Hirsch found the pattern in 1986. “You can divide the year into two sections and have practically all the gains in one six-month section and very little in the other,” his son Jeffrey Hirsch, editor in chief of the Stock Trader’s Almanac, wrote in the 2026 edition.
Since 1950, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) has gained an average of about 7% from November through April, versus less than 1% from May through October, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. Put $10,000 into only the good half each year, and it grew to about $1.3 million. Put it into only the bad half, and it shrank to about $4,300.
Earnings calendar: Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), GE Vernova (GEV), KLA Corporation (KLAC), Amphenol Corporation (APH), ServiceNow (NOW), T-Mobile US (TMUS), UBS Group AG (UBS), Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Equinor ASA (EQNR), Phillips 66 (PSX), Vertiv Holdings (VRT), O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY), American Electric Power Company (AEP), Boston Scientific (BSX), TE Connectivity (TEL), Deutsche Bank (DB), Garmin (GRMN), eBay (EBAY), Honeywell Aerospace (HONA), United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Ford Motor Company (F), Carvana (CVNA), Biogen (BIIB), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC), Raymond James Financial (RJF)
Catch up on some top stories you might have missed overnight:
Investors have long treated the US dollar as a refuge when markets fall, but foreign money chasing returns from the AI boom could weaken that safe-haven role if the trade unwinds.
Foreign capital has poured in to US mega-cap equities, hyperscaler corporate bonds and power-grid infrastructure. That has made the dollar an increasingly crowded bet on American exceptionalism, backed by faster growth, higher yields and persistent foreign demand for US assets.
But if the AI narrative stumbles, the dollar’s safe-haven status could collide with its growing role as a risk-sensitive asset owned increasingly by price-sensitive investors. A sustained selloff in stocks could lead investors to sell US assets, potentially drowning out the safe-haven demand for the currency.
If the AI trade unwinds, “it’s not as clear the dollar benefits in the same way it would have done in the past,” said Dominic Bunning, head of G10 FX strategy at Nomura.
