US Indexes Correct Slightly Ahead of Fed Decision
Wall Street stocks moved slightly lower on Wednesday (April 29th) ahead of the release of earnings reports from large-cap technology companies and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision, which is expected to keep interest rates unchanged. The S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq 100 were slightly lower at the start of the session, indicating the market is likely to hedge against risk ahead of these two key catalysts.
Investor attention was focused on hyperscalers Microsoft, MetaTrader, Alphabet, and Amazon, which have a combined market capitalization of around US$11 trillion. All four fell around 1%–2% ahead of earnings announcements after the market close, with the primary focus being on updates on AI-related capital expenditures (capex), which have been fueling the stock rally, despite growing skepticism about the sustainability of AI investment returns. AI infrastructure sentiment was also in the spotlight after OpenAI reportedly missed its target the previous day.
Outside of technology, sectoral rotation was evident, with Visa surging more than 5% after strong quarterly results, while Booking fell around 4% after its earnings report. AbbVie shares also rebounded from an eight-month low after releasing its latest results, helping to cushion broader pressure on the index.
Meanwhile, defensive stocks held relatively firm amid rising oil prices, as there was no indication of additional energy supplies from the Middle East. The market now awaits Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks, with interest rates expected to remain unchanged, but the narrative on the direction of inflation, the labor market, and financial conditions will determine whether this slight decline translates into a larger repricing of equities. (gn)
Source: Newsmaker.id
