Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures steady ahead of Fed decision, AI earnings test
Key Takeaways
- •S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures edged higher, while Dow futures slipped as oil prices rose.
- •SK Hynix reported second-quarter profit growth of 557% year over year, but the result missed Wall Street expectations.
- •Asian investors sold chip stocks on Wednesday, sending South Korea’s KOSPI Composite down nearly 6%.
- •Microsoft and Meta are scheduled to report after the bell, making their results a key test for the AI trade.
- •Iran’s attacks against the US pushed Brent crude up nearly 4% to above $85 a barrel ahead of the Federal Reserve decision.
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures steady ahead of Fed decision, AI earnings test
SKHY -8.98%
^KS11 -5.98%
^GSPC +0.21%
^IXIC -0.22%
^DJI +1.03%
US stock futures stabilized on Wednesday after Iran launched surprise attacks against the US, as investors counted down to the Federal Reserve's policy decision and earnings from two large AI spenders. The moves came after a session in which markets were already parsing whether rate policy, Middle East tensions, and company results would reinforce or disrupt the recent rally.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) edged up 0.2%, while Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ=F) rose 0.3%. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), which has less exposure to technology stocks, slipped 0.2% as oil prices climbed amid renewed Middle East tensions.
SK Hynix's (000660.KS, SKHY) second-quarter profit rose 557% year over year, the company reported after the US market close on Tuesday. The result was still below Wall Street expectations, fueling concerns that the artificial intelligence boom may be slowing. In Asia, investors again sold chip stocks such as Samsung (005930.KS) and SK Hynix, sending the KOSPI Composite (^KS11) down nearly 6% on Wednesday. That reaction underscored how closely semiconductor shares remain tied to the pace of AI-related spending and earnings, especially in a week when investors are looking for confirmation that demand is still broadening.
Two quarterly results from the "Magnificent Seven" are also set to be a major test for the AI trade, with reports from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META) due after the bell. The releases could prove pivotal for technology stocks after Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) capital expenditure guidance last week unsettled markets and revived questions about the durability of the AI boom. With so much of the market's recent leadership concentrated in a handful of megacap names, any change in spending plans or cloud demand will be watched closely for signs of whether the trend is still accelerating.
In the Middle East conflict, Iran launched an "attempted surprise attack" on Tuesday, according to US Central Command, reopening hostilities between the US and Iran for the first time since a pause on Friday. Oil prices jumped, with Brent crude (BZ=F) rising nearly 4% to trade above $85 a barrel. Higher energy costs can quickly filter through to market sentiment, adding another layer of uncertainty for investors already balancing earnings risk and policy expectations.
The strikes came ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, a key moment when the central bank is expected either to keep rates unchanged or raise them for the first time in three years. Traders are leaning toward no change, but persistently high inflation and Chairman Kevin Warsh's efforts to tighten control of Fed communications have left the door open to a hike.
Beyond the Big Tech reports, investors will also get a wave of quarterly results from consumer companies including Procter & Gamble (PG), Starbucks (SBUX), and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG). Qualcomm (QCOM) and Arm Holdings (ARM) are also due to report after the bell, rounding out a calendar that could help shape sentiment across both consumer spending and semiconductor demand.