US stock futures made gains Wednesday morning, as investors braced for the Federal Reserve’s policy decision following another record-setting session on Wall Street.
Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) slipped 0.1% while contracts tied to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) gained 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.
The muted moves follow a strong session that pushed all three major indexes to fresh highs. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.2%, briefly crossing 6,900 for the first time ever and edging closer to the 7,000 milestone. The Dow (^DJI) rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led gains with a 0.8% advance.
Tech giants continue to dominate market sentiment this week. Nvidia (NVDA) closed at a record high before continuing to push up 1.3% in extended trading. The chipmaker unveiled a flood of announcements during the day, detailing partnerships with the US government, Uber (UBER), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Oracle (ORCL), and more. It also announced telecom deals on a wireless 6G buildout in a tie-up with Cisco (CSCO) and T-Mobile (TMUS).
Markets are now in wait-and-see mode ahead of Wednesday’s Fed decision. The central bank is widely expected to deliver a quarter-point rate cut, its first since July, as investors watch closely for any hints from Chair Jerome Powell about the pace of additional easing.
Meanwhile, easing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have provided a modest tailwind for equities. Investors will be monitoring President Trump’s trip to Korea, where he is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Earnings from the “Magnificent Seven” are hotly anticipated with Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) set to report after Wednesday’s close, followed by Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) on Thursday. Analysts expect another round of hefty data center spending, though any disappointments could result in drag on the broader market.
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