U.S. stock futures traded mixed early Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision following its two-day policy meeting. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and the S&P 500 (SPX) were up 0.49% and 0.29% respectively, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were down 0.04% at 4:27 a.m. EDT on October 29.
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During Tuesday’s regular trading session, all three major indexes closed higher for a second consecutive day. The S&P 500 briefly crossed the 6,900 mark for the first time, driven by strong earnings, optimism about artificial intelligence, and expectations of a favorable outcome from the Fed meeting. The Nasdaq Composite, the Dow Jones, and the S&P 500 rose 0.80%, 0.34%, and 0.23%, respectively.
Notably, chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) reached a fresh 52-week high following positive updates from CEO Jensen Huang at the GTC event in Washington, pushing its market valuation closer to $5 trillion for the first time.
All eyes are now on the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) interest rate decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later today. Traders are widely expecting a 25-basis-point rate cut and will look for hints about future rate moves, particularly a potential cut in December.
At the same time, traders are awaiting earnings from the Big Tech firms. Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) will report today along with Boeing (BA), Verizon (VZ), Starbucks (SBUX), and CVS Health (CVS).
Notably, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was down, floating near 3.97%. WTI crude oil futures were trending higher, hovering near $60.32 per barrel as of the last check. Additionally, the Gold Spot U.S. dollar price increased to nearly $4,005 per ounce on Wednesday.
In Europe, stocks opened modestly higher on October 29, amid a slew of corporate earnings and anticipation of the Fed’s policy decision.
Asia-Pacific Markets Traded Mixed Today
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday ahead of the planned meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea tomorrow. Tensions appear to have eased after Trump signaled plans to lower fentanyl-related tariffs on China, and China purchased U.S. soybeans ahead of the talks.
In China, the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.70%, and the Shenzhen Component added 1.88%. Japan’s Nikkei gained 2.17%, and the Topix fell 0.23%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong markets were closed for the Chung Yeung Festival.
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