Stock futures exhibited a mixed performance and remained relatively stable in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday, coinciding with a day filled with corporate earnings reports. Meanwhile, oil prices surged following Iran’s unexpected missile strike on U.S. forces in the Middle East. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 experienced increases of 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, in recent trading sessions, whereas futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a decline of 0.2%. Investors today are keenly awaiting the 2 p.m. announcement regarding the Fed’s decision on interest rates. Traders utilising the CME Group’s FedWatch tool are assigning a 34% probability to a rate hike by the Federal Open Market Committee, while the likelihood of a minimum quarter-percentage-point increase at the September meeting stands at 79%. Ahead of the decision, the 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages, stood at nearly 4.63%, reflecting an increase of almost three basis points from Tuesday’s close.
The yield reached its peak since January 2025, approaching 4.72% last Thursday, driven by inflation concerns as U.S. petrol prices surpassed $4 a gallon once again. Oil prices surged following a statement from U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, which indicated that Iran had “launched multiple ballistic missiles … in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East.” U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures increased by 4.3%, reaching approximately $82.70 per barrel in recent trading, while global benchmark Brent crude futures rose by 4.5% to $87.90. Yesterday, the blue-chip Dow and benchmark S&P 500 experienced gains, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite declined for the second consecutive day this week. The Nasdaq has experienced a downturn over the last five sessions, driven by investor apprehensions regarding the AI expenditures of major technology firms.
Two of those companies—Microsoft and Meta Platforms—will be reporting highly anticipated results after markets close today, and their shares rose less than 1% before the bell. The other Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks pointed mostly higher as well, with Apple ticking up after the iPhone maker hit $5 trillion in market capitalisation. The Roundhill Memory ETF and broader iShares Semiconductor ETF ticked lower after closing down about 9% and 5%, respectively, yesterday. South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix experienced a 2% decline in stock value, while Seagate Technology saw a 6% increase in shares following their respective earnings reports.
In other post-earnings movements, Ford Motor experienced a 5% increase, while Visa saw a decline of 1.5%. Procter & Gamble was among notable names set to report before the bell Wednesday. Bitcoin was trading around 64,500, up modestly over the past 24 hours. The U.S. dollar index, which monitors the value of the greenback relative to a selection of foreign currencies, remained relatively stable at 101.39. Gold futures declined by 0.2%, settling at $4,030 per ounce.