A television station broadcasts Kevin Warsh, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, speaking after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting as a trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. equity futures were little changed Wednesday night as investors digested Big Tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates steady.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 120 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were up about 0.1%.
In regular trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,153.18 points, or 2.19%, marking the blue chip index’s worst decline since April 2025. The broad market S&P 500 slid 1.52%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.74%, ending the session more than 10% off its intraday record.
Meta Platforms took center stage after its quarterly results heightened investor scrutiny of its AI monetization efforts, with shares falling 8% in after-hours trading. Microsoft, by contrast, jumped 9% after reporting stronger enterprise demand, underscoring a widening divergence in how Big Tech’s AI strategies are playing out.
“This is ultimately a tale of two AI investment strategies. One company is increasing profits while spending heavily, while the other is allowing those costs to eat into its bottom line,” said Stephen Evans, chief investment officer at Pave Finance.
“Microsoft’s results suggest concerns about slowing growth may have been overstated, particularly after the pressure its shares have faced,” he added. “Meta’s advertising business remains strong, but it must now demonstrate greater cost control and more consistent returns from its investment before confidence fully returns.”
Traders were also weighing the Federal Reserve’s decision after Wednesday’s meeting to leave interest rates unchanged, which sent long-dated Treasury yields sharply higher. The 30-year Treasury yield soared 10 basis points to above 5.2%, hitting its highest level since 2007.
“The Fed remains patient [and in] a wait-and-see mode, and will continue to monitor how the economy evolves in the upcoming months,” said Sameer Samana, Wells Fargo Investment Institute’s head of global equities and real assets. “This leaves the September meeting ‘live’ as an opportunity for the Fed to act if supported by the incoming data to appease rising inflation pressures.”
On Thursday, traders will be watching for weekly jobless claims and the personal consumption expenditures price index reading for June. The Dow Jones consensus calls for headline inflation to have grown at an annual rate of 3.7%. Excluding volatile energy and food, they anticipate it will have risen 3.3%.
One of the busiest weeks of corporate earnings continues Thursday with Bristol-Myers Squibb set to report before the bell. Amazon, Apple and Coinbase are on deck for after the close.
