US pre-open: Futures mixed ahead of earnings, Fed decision

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Wednesday following earnings from some big-name tech firms overnight and ahead of the latest Federal Reserve policy announcement.

As of 1225 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.12% and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.07% in the red, while S&P 500 futures were up 0.10%.

The Dow closed 37.20 points higher on Tuesday.

Google parent company Alphabet posted better-than-expected earnings after the close, sending the group's stock higher in pre-market trading, while Microsoft shares were under pressure despite topping analyst's estimates with its largest revenue growth since 2018.

Also in focus, Starbucks hiked its full-year outlook, with US same-store sales growth predicted to return to pre-pandemic levels. However, again, the stock was in the red.

Boeing, Ford, Qualcomm, eBay, MGM Resorts, Apple and Facebook were both slated to report later on in the day.

The Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting will also draw to a close on Wednesday, with the central bank not expected to take any action but to defend its policy of letting inflation run hot on a temporary basis. Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference following the meeting at 1830 BST.

On the macro front, mortgage application volume fell 2.5% week-on-week in the seven days ended 23 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, despite the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances decreasing to 3.17% from 3.20%, with points decreasing to 0.30 from 0.36 for loans with a 20% down payment, to their lowest rate since the end of February.

Still to come, an advance reading of March's goods trade balance will be published at 1330 BST, as will an advance reading of last month's wholesale inventories figures.