Tech news in 3 minutes
Stock futures rise as Microsoft jumps after earnings; traders hope to recover from Fed Day sell-off
US equity futures rose Wednesday night as investors weighed the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady and mixed Big Tech earnings, with Dow futures adding 158 points (0.3%), S&P 500 futures up 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbing 0.7%. In regular trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,153.18 points (2.19%)—its worst decline since April 2025—while the S&P 500 fell 1.52% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.74%, ending more than 10% below its intraday record. After-hours moves highlighted a sharp divergence in AI investment strategies: Meta Platforms lost 7% after issuing a soft revenue forecast, while Microsoft jumped 8% on surging Azure growth. "This is ultimately a tale of two AI investment strategies," said Stephen Evans, chief investment officer at Pave Finance, noting one company boosts profits despite heavy spending while the other lets costs erode earnings. Traders also digested the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to leave rates unchanged, which sent long-dated Treasury yields sharply higher. The 30-year Treasury yield surged 10 basis points above 5.2%, the highest since 2007. "The Fed remains patient in a wait-and-see mode," said Sameer Samana of Wells Fargo Investment Institute, leaving the September meeting "live" for potential action if inflation pressures rise. Thursday's economic calendar includes weekly jobless claims, the June personal consumption expenditures price index (headline expected at 3.7% annual, core at 3.3%), and the first reading of Q2 real GDP. Corporate earnings continue with Bristol-Myers Squibb before the bell, followed by Amazon, Apple, and Coinbase after the close.