US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a “Fed Listens” event in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2019.
Eric Baradat | AFP | Getty Images
Stock futures were little changed in early morning trading on Wednesday as investors await a congressional hearing on antitrust in Big Tech as well as the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped just 4 points, while the S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures traded in mildly positive territory.
The busiest week of corporate earnings rolled on after the bell on Tuesday. Starbucks swung to a loss during its fiscal third quarter, but the world’s largest coffee chain raised forecast for the current quarter, sending shares up more than 5% in extended trading.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices popped more than 9% after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and issued an upbeat guidance for the year.
Investors will assess more results from Boeing, General Motors and General Electric before the bell Wednesday, while Qualcomm and PayPal are among the companies reporting after the close Wednesday.
Chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet will testify before the House Antitrust Subcommittee at noon Wednesday following a yearlong probe into their anti-competitive practices. Investors will look for insights on how the Big Tech is handling antitrust challenges from regulators with the authority to break them up.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve will conclude its two-day policy meeting Wednesday and is set to release a statement at 2 p.m. ET. Chairman Jerome Powell will have a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The central bank is expected to keep interest rate unchanged at near zero to support the economy still struggling with the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, the Fed announced it would extend its emergency lending programs through the remainder of 2020.
“Markets continue to expect ultra-accommodative policy from the Fed, and the Fed is unlikely to disappoint at this meeting,” Bill Callahan, investment strategist at Schroders, said in an email. “Given that we are still squarely in the center of the pandemic, the only question for investors is just how dovish the Fed will be.”
In other news, Eastman Kodak soared more than 60% in extended trading Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced a deal to work with the photography pioneer to produce ingredients in generic drugs.
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