Nasdaq futures climbed on Wednesday as upbeat ASML (ASML) orders buoyed chip stocks, but the broader mood was muted ahead of the first Big Tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.
Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) rose 0.4%, on the heels of a sharp closing gain. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures (ES=F) wobbled above the flat line, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) were little changed.
The looming Fed policy verdict is providing reason for markets to tread carefully, even though the central bank is expected to stand pat on interest rates.
Investors will listen out for answers to two key questions at Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference: How much further will the Fed cut rates, and has the central bank changed its stance in light of President Trump’s early tariff moves?
Meanwhile, a surprise rise in bookings for ASML, a key toolmaker in the AI chip chain, gave another fillip to techs starting to recover from a bruising start to the week. Shares of ASML popped 7% in pre-market trading, with peers like Applied Materials (AMAT) also making gains.
Markets are now taking a cooler look at Chinese startup DeepSeek’s challenge to assumptions about AI spending and costs. Shares of Alibaba (BABA) popped after the Chinese tech giant released a new AI model that it says is better than DeepSeek’s rival to ChatGPT.
The saga deepened with claims by Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI that DeepSeek used its proprietary models to train its competitor.
The spotlight is now on the guidance in Meta (META) and Microsoft’s quarterly results, due after the bell, for reassurance that Big Tech’s heavy AI spending will pay off in growth. Tesla (TSLA) rounds out Wednesday’s megacap earnings, with Wall Street watching for a new catalyst to jump-start the stock.
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Stock market coverage for Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
