S&P, Dow, Nasdaq futures change mildly, Nvidia rally before closing boost optimism amid rate cut on brink, big tech earnings set, US-China meeting indicated positive

Ahead of Wednesday’s trading session, US stock futures - covering the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq - are trending mostly upward in anticipation of major market-moving events: a widely expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut and earnings releases from some of the world’s largest technology firms.

S&P 500 futures climbed about 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 up around 0.38%. The Dow Jones futures showed a slight fall of 0.07%, indicating a positive but cautious market sentiment

US stock market Tuesday showed steady gains with all three major indexes hitting new intraday and closing records. The Nasdaq Composite led with an increase of 0.8%, followed by the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.3%, and the S&P 500 gaining 0.2%.


Nvidia led the way higher, providing a lift to the markets as CEO Jensen Huang gave the keynote address at its GTC event. Investor optimism was also driven by strong Nvidia rally to 5% surge after unveiling a multi-billion-dollar AI partnership.

The Federal Reserve is set to announce its latest monetary policy decision at 2 pm ET, with markets overwhelmingly expecting a 0.25% cut in the federal funds rate, lowering the target range to 3.75%-4.00% from the prior 4.00%-4.25% benchmark.

This move follows a similar cut in September, marking the Fed’s second consecutive rate reduction as it responds to signs of economic softness and weakened labor market data.

Big tech earnings on deck

Earnings from the ‘Magnificent Seven’ are anticipated with Alphabet, Meta Microsoft set to report after Wednesday’s close, followed by Apple and Amazon on Thursday. Apple and Microsoft both crossed the $4 trillion market cap milestone.

The tech sector has helped lift broader indexes as investors look for resilient revenue and growth figures amid shifting macroeconomic headwinds.