Stock Futures Point Higher Ahead of Fed Decision on Interest Rates, Big Tech Earnings; Gold Hits Latest Record

Stock futures were headed for a higher open Wednesday, a day that will see the Federal Reserve announce whether it will hold interest rates steady as well as earnings results from several Magnificent Seven tech companies. 

Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed up 0.9%, 0.3%, and less than 0.1%, respectively.

Yesterday, the major equities indexes finished mixed, with the benchmark S&P 500 setting intraday and closing records and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 0.9%, but the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 400 points as shares of UnitedHealth plummeted.

The Fed is expected to stand pat on interest rates at a range of 3.5% to 3.75% when it announces its decision at 2 p.m. ET. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will address reporters afterward and likely will field questions about President Donald Trump’s increased public pressure to lower rates.

Investors also are gearing up for quarterly results from megacap tech firms Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), and Tesla (TSLA) after the closing bell. Microsoft and Tesla shares edged higher in premarket trading, while Meta stock ticked lower. Shares of Apple (AAPL), which is set to issue its earnings report after the close Thursday, were little changed.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA), the world’s most valuable public company, advanced about 2% on reports that Beijing had approved sales of its H200 chips to China. Amazon (AMZN) shares ticked higher after the company announced it was laying off 16,000 workers just three months after it eliminated about 14,000 positions.

In post-earnings moves, Texas Instruments (TXN), ASML (ASML), and AT&T (T) jumped 8.5%, 6.5%, and 5%, respectively, while GE Vernova (GEV) stock advanced 1.5%. Starbucks (SBUX) was among other notable companies set to report results this morning.

UnitedHealth (UNH) and Humana (HUM) shares rebounded modestly before the bell after plummeting a respective 20% and 21% yesterday following a proposal from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would raise payments to insurers less than expected in 2027.

Safe-haven gold futures set their latest record high of more than $5,300 an ounce early Wednesday and recently were up 3.3% at $5,250. Silver futures were up 5.7% to $112 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of global currencies, was near flat at 96.25 after reaching more than four-year lows yesterday. Bitcoin was little changed at around $89,300. 

The yield on the 10-year Treasury—which impacts interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages—was little changed from Tuesday’s close of 4.25%. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. benchmark, ticked lower to around $62.30 a barrel.