U. S. stock futures remained largely unchanged on Tuesday evening as investors awaited key earnings reports from major technology companies and a crucial Federal Reserve policy decision set for Wednesday. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 19 points, or 0.04%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures hovered near the flatline.
In Asia, markets appeared poised for gains. Japan's Nikkei 225 was set to rise, with Chicago futures contracts at 64,410, compared to the previous close of 63,268.37. Similarly, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 23,093, slightly above the last close of 23,041.32. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 saw a 0.27% increase in early trading.
Tuesday's regular U. S. trading session saw major averages close higher, driven by a surge in semiconductor stocks. This was largely due to Broadcom's announcement of a $63 billion financing package from a group of banks to supply chips and networking solutions to Anthropic, the company behind Claude. Broadcom's shares rose 4%, while Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology saw gains of 5.5% and 2.8%, respectively. These movements propelled the Nasdaq Composite to a 1.2% increase.
Oil prices also contributed to the positive sentiment, declining after Iran's Supreme Leader met with top security official Mohsen Rezaei to discuss potential conditions for ending the conflict with the U. S.
Attention now turns to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which concludes on Wednesday. The central bank is expected to maintain interest rates within the current target range of 3.75% to 4%. At the September meeting, policymakers had raised rates by a quarter percentage point. There is a 92% probability that the Fed will hold rates steady, though some anticipate that the Fed Chairman might hint at future hikes. The decision is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Following the Fed's announcement, investors will shift their focus to the earnings reports from tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft, both part of the so-called 'Magnificent Seven'. These companies are set to release their results post-market close on Wednesday. Tech stocks, particularly those involved in AI, have faced challenges recently due to concerns over financing. However, Morgan Stanley's chief U. S. equity strategist, Mike Wilson, suggested that the recent recovery in tech stocks might indicate the end of the correction phase. "Most of the correction is already over, " he remarked on CNBC's "Closing Bell".
In the Asia-Pacific region, markets were expected to open higher on Wednesday, buoyed by the positive performance of U. S. stocks and declining oil prices. Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures indicated potential gains, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was already up 0.27% in early trading.
Meanwhile, Oracle experienced a 3.6% rally on Tuesday as it expanded its collaboration with OpenAI, integrating ChatGPT and Codex into its applications and enhancing its cloud chip offerings. Oracle's president of Cloud Infrastructure, Mahesh Thiagarajan, emphasized the ease of application development and management using ChatGPT. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is expected to join Oracle co-CEO Clay Magouyrk for a keynote at Oracle AI World.
In after-hours trading, several companies saw significant movements. Robinhood's shares dropped nearly 5% after the company aligned its third-quarter revenue with expectations but lowered its full-year 2026 adjusted operating expenses forecast. Seagate Technology's shares fell 6% despite surpassing earnings and revenue expectations in its fiscal first-quarter report. NXP Semiconductors tumbled 9% following fourth-quarter revenue projections that were close to expectations, with operating income anticipated to range between $1.374 billion and $1.442 billion.
