US pre-open: Dow futures little changed ahead of FOMC meeting

30th Apr 2024 10:56

(Sharecast News) - Dow Jones futures were little changed ahead of the bell on Tuesday as market participants looked ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and more mega-cap earnings.

As of 1245

BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.04%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.10% and 0.18% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 146.43 points higher on Monday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

Central bank policymakers will meet for their two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with their latest interest rate decision set to be revealed on Wednesday, with the Fed broadly anticipated to keep interest rates steady. However, investors have grown worried that chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments may be more hawkish than originally thought as a result of a run of hotter-than-expected inflation reports.

Corporate earnings will again be in focus on Tuesday, with Amazon set to report its quarterly numbers, as will McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Restaurant Brands, Eli Lilly and PayPal before the open, while Advanced Micro Devices, Pinterest, Super Micro and Starbucks will publish results after the close of trading.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "Earnings season looks to kick back in as a major determinant of market sentiment today, with Amazon reporting after the close. While we have commonly known Amazon as a consumer cyclical stock that should benefit from higher consumer spending, recent trends have instead shifted the focus towards their cloud and AI revenues given the prospective revenue growth they bring. However, advertising also represents a key area of growth, which traders should be keenly following. Coming hot off the heels of strong digital advertising demand from Snap, Microsoft, and Alphabet there is a hope that Amazon can continue to build on their impressive 26% year-on-year ad growth seen last time around."

On the macro front for Tuesday, S&P Case-Shiller's February housing price index will be published at 1400 BST, while April consumer confidence figures will follow at 1500 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com