U.S. equity futures remained largely unchanged early Wednesday, as market participants awaited quarterly updates from technology sector leaders and the Federal Reserve’s latest policy announcement, potentially marking Jerome Powell’s final meeting as chair. The subdued trading follows a pullback in major indices as attention turns to the earnings outlook and the central bank’s next move.
At 4:15 p.m. (Bangkok Time), contracts tracking the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near unchanged levels in pre-market activity, while futures linked to the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.25%. The previous trading session saw the S&P 500 contract by 0.49% and the Nasdaq Composite fall 0.9% off record highs, while the Dow slipped 0.05%, down by 25.86 points.
Technology shares led losses Tuesday after a Wall Street Journal article cited missed internal goals for both revenue and user growth at OpenAI. This setback pressured shares of Oracle, an OpenAI partner, which dropped 4%, with Broadcom and Nvidia also declining by 4% and over 1%, respectively.
Investor focus now shifts to after-market earnings releases from four prominent “Magnificent Seven” companies: Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft. Market participants are watching closely to assess whether substantial investments in artificial intelligence by these firms are contributing to significant top-line expansion.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve’s April policy decision is set for release Wednesday afternoon, which may represent Powell’s last before his term concludes in May. Kevin Warsh is considered likely to succeed him as head of the central bank. Financial markets widely anticipate the Fed will maintain the current target range for the federal funds rate.
