Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Futures Rise While Dow Jones Slips Ahead Of FOMC Decision—Alphabet, Microsoft, Teradyne, Seagate In Focus

U.S. stock futures were fluctuating on Wednesday following Tuesday’s advance. Futures of major benchmark indices were mixed.

President Donald Trump hinted that he expects to lower fentanyl-linked tariffs on China, a potential major concession ahead of a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea this week.

Investors await the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday afternoon. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool’s projections show markets pricing a 99.9% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates later today.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) are slated to report quarterly earnings after the closing bell today.

Additionally, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 3.99% and the two-year bond was at 3.50%.

Futures	Change (+/-)
Dow Jones	-0.25%
S&P 500	0.16%
Nasdaq 100	0.39%
Russell 2000	-0.18%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was up 0.14% at $688.00, while the QQQ advanced 0.41% to $635.54, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Stocks In Focus

Alphabet

• Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) rose 0.67% in premarket on Wednesday as analysts expect it to report earnings of $2.32 per share on revenue of $99.64 billion after the closing bell.

• GOOG maintained a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, with a robust quality ranking. Additional performance details are available here.

Meta Platforms

• Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was 0.47% higher ahead of its earnings, slated to be released after the closing bell. Analysts expect earnings of $8.11 per share on revenue of $57.21 billion for the latest quarter.

• META maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional information is available here.

Microsoft

• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) advanced 0.39% as analysts expect it to report earnings of $2.97 per share on revenue of $10.61 billion after the closing bell.

• MSFT maintained a stronger price trend over short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Teradyne

• Teradyne Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) surged 20.91% after the chip-testing equipment provider delivered a better-than-expected third-quarter earnings along with a robust outlook.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TER maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details are available here.

Seagate Technology

• Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) shares climbed 7.17% after the company released its first-quarter earnings report, beating expectations on the top and bottom lines.

• STX maintained a stronger price trend over short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate growth ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Cues From Last Session

Sectors gaining on Tuesday included consumer discretionary and information technology, which bucked an otherwise negative market trend. Real estate, utilities, and energy stocks recorded the biggest losses as most S&P 500 sectors fell.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq Composite	0.80%	23,827.49
S&P 500	0.23%	6,890.89
Dow Jones	0.34%	47,706.37
Russell 2000	-0.55%	2,506.65

Insights From Analysts

Analysts at BlackRock maintain a generally positive forward-looking stance on the economy and stock market, centered on expectations of Federal Reserve policy.

The firm’s base case scenario assumes that “a softer labor market allowing Fed rate cuts and supporting risk assets – is playing out”. This view is reinforced by cooling inflation and rising jobless claims, which BlackRock believes give the Fed a “data-backed path to keep cutting”.

Tactically, BlackRock is overweight U.S. equities. The firm notes that “rate cuts amid a notable slowing of activity without recession should support U.S. stocks and the AI theme”. Artificial intelligence is a key factor in this positive outlook, as BlackRock states, “we see AI supporting corporate earnings”.

However, the firm is also “keeping our macro scenarios fresh” by weighing alternative outcomes. A key risk scenario involves “hiring rebounds amid ongoing labor supply constraints,” which could create stagflationary pressure and cause stocks to fall.

Conversely, an upside scenario exists where “the AI buildout and the resulting productivity gains” lead to strong growth, lower inflation, and “big stock gains”.

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Wednesday;

• September’s advanced U.S. trade balance in goods, advanced retail inventories, and wholesale inventories data will be delayed due to the shutdown. But, September’s Pending home sales data will be released by 10:00 a.m. ET.

• The Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates will be announced by 2:00 p.m., and the Fed Chair Jerome Powell will address a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.70% to hover around $59.73 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 1.62% to hover around $4,016.71 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $4,381.6 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.26% higher at the 98.9230 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.16% lower at $113,085.98 per coin.

Asian markets closed higher on Wednesday except Australia’s ASX 200 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices. India’s NIFTY 50, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and China’s CSI 300 indices rose. European markets were mostly lower in early trade.

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