4:10pm: Cautious finish
Wall Street closed Wednesday on a cautious note, with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 pulling back after the Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates steady.
The Dow shed roughly 0.6%, closing at 48,862, while the S&P 500 edged just barely into the red, settling at 7,136. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, managed to hold its ground, finishing at 24,673, virtually unchanged.
The Fed's decision to keep borrowing costs where they are had been widely anticipated, but markets remained on edge as investors parsed the central bank's tone for any signals on the path ahead. With inflation still a moving target and trade uncertainty lingering in the background, the "wait and see" stance from policymakers did little to stoke enthusiasm on the trading floor.
The real action, though, may be happening after the bell. A blockbuster lineup of earnings reports is hitting the wire Wednesday evening, headlined by four members of the so-called "Magnificent 7" — Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet — alongside results from Ford and Qualcomm.
The collective weight of those companies on major indexes means after-hours trading could set a very different tone heading into Thursday's open. Investors will be watching closely for any commentary on AI spending, advertising demand, and cloud growth, all of which have become bellwethers for the broader market's direction in 2025.
3:45pm: Proactive news headlines
- Bloom Energy surged after nearly doubling revenue expectations, beating EBITDA forecasts, and raising full-year guidance on strong data center demand.
- Ceres Power jumped following a Goldman Sachs price target hike, with no new company-specific developments behind the move.
- BioHarvest Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:BHST, FRA:8MV0) gained after appointing co-founder Dr Zaki Rakib as CEO to unify leadership across research, manufacturing, and operations.
- C3 Metals Inc (TSX-V:CCCM, OTC:CUAUF) rose after reporting strong copper drilling results at its Khaleesi project in Peru, including a long high-grade mineralized intercept.
- Candel Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CADL) advanced after signing a commercialization agreement with EVERSANA to prepare for a potential US launch of its prostate cancer therapy.
3:00pm: Market movers
- NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) surged after beating Q1 expectations and issuing a stronger outlook, with revenue of $3.18 billion up 12% year over year.
- Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) rose on stronger-than-expected results driven by AI-related demand for high-capacity storage, reporting revenue of $3.11 billion and a solid EPS beat.
- Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) jumped after nearly doubling revenue expectations and sharply raising full-year guidance on surging data center demand.
- Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY, XETRA:3E2) gained after topping revenue and earnings forecasts, supported by higher gross merchandise sales and improving marketplace performance.
- SoFi Technologies fell sharply despite a revenue beat as investors focused on weaker-than-expected forward guidance.
- GE Healthcare Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:GEHC) dropped after missing earnings expectations and cutting its full-year outlook due to supply chain pressures and higher costs.
- General Dynamics Corp (NYSE:GD, XETRA:GDX) rose after beating both revenue and earnings expectations, driven by strength in its Marine Systems and Aerospace businesses.
- Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE:YUM) climbed after beating earnings estimates, led by strong performance from Taco Bell.
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) declined despite strong earnings and revenue beats and a new $3 billion share buyback announcement.
- T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS, XETRA:TM5) gained after beating earnings expectations and reporting stronger-than-expected subscriber growth and profitability.
- Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) fell after missing revenue expectations due to a sharp drop in crypto trading activity despite modest earnings performance.
- Visa Inc (NYSE:V, XETRA:3V64) rose after exceeding earnings expectations, supported by strong transaction volumes and resilient consumer spending.
2:30pm: Fed holds but split deepens
The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, in line with market expectations, but policymakers showed an unusual split over the path ahead as the central bank signaled a slightly more dovish tone.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced no change to the benchmark rate, while Governor Stephen Miran dissented in favor of an immediate quarter-point rate cut.
At the same time, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan voted against adding an easing bias to the policy statement, preferring not to signal a clearer path toward future rate cuts.
The combination of dissenting votes marked the highest number of opposing votes tied to a Fed rate decision and policy statement since October 1992, highlighting growing divisions within the central bank over inflation risks and the timing of potential easing.
While the Fed leaned dovish overall, the split underscored ongoing debate among policymakers as markets continue to watch for signs of when the first rate cut could arrive.
1:30pm: Big week for Big Tech
This week’s earnings from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, XETRA:FB2A, SIX:FB) are expected to reinforce one core theme: AI is no longer just a future growth story but a driver of real revenue, profits, and valuation for Big Tech.
Analysts at Wedbush take the view that investors are still underestimating how quickly these companies are monetizing AI, whether through cloud demand (Microsoft, Amazon, Google), digital advertising (Meta), or upcoming product strategy shifts (Apple).
The firm sees this earnings week as a key test of whether strong AI spending and massive capex are translating into sustainable growth, and believes the answer will likely be yes.
“We have barely scratched the surface of this 4th Industrial Revolution now playing out around the world,” Wedbush said, pointing to technology giants such as Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon as the key beneficiaries.
Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft are set to report tonight, while Apple drops its earnings on Thursday aftermarket.
12:05pm: Fed expected to hold
With oil flirting near $120 a barrel and inflation refusing to cool, the Federal Reserve is expected to do the only thing it can on Wednesday: nothing.
The decision would also mark what is likely Jerome Powell's final meeting as chair of the US central bank, an understated exit for a central banker who rarely sought the spotlight.
Traders are pricing in a 100% probability that the Fed will hold the federal funds rate at 3.5%–3.75%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. More striking, markets are no longer pricing in any rate cuts for the remainder of 2026, a sharp reversal from the start of the year, when two quarter-point reductions were widely anticipated.
Powell's term as Fed chair concludes May 15.
11:00am: Big afternoon
Investors are focused on the Federal Reserve today, while major tech earnings are also in the spotlight, with results from Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Qualcomm set to be released after the market closes.
"US Big Tech is expected to report around 40% revenue growth for last quarter — slowing, but still strong," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.
"Beyond that, 80% of S&P 500 companies have beaten revenue expectations so far."
10am: Nasdaq falls after mixed earnings
The US major stock indices are all in the red so far, led by earnings reports.
In early trades, the Dow Jones fell 0.5%, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropping 0.1%.
On the Nasdaq, giants including Nvidia, Microsoft and Walmart are all down more than 1%, with Palantir falling 3%, Applovin and ARM Holdings over 2%.
More than two-thirds of the Dow's constituents are in the red, led by Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams and Salesforce.
Biggest fallers on the S&P are Teradyne, down 16.5%, GE HealthCare Technologies, down 12.5%, and Robinhood Markets, down 11.2%, all on the back of earnings.
At the top of the leaderboard are NXP Semiconductor, up 23% on the back of earnings overnight. Seagate Technology, up 18%, also posted afterhours. Western Digital is following in its wake.
8am: Cautious start for stocks expected
Wall Street tech stocks are predicted to swing back into green on Wednesday, though investors may largely sit on their hands ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision later.
Ahead of the opening bell, Nasdaq futures were up 0.4%, while those for the Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were up less than 0.1%.
This follows a weaker session on Wall Street the day before, when all the major indices fell, led by a 0.9% decline in the Nasdaq. and a 1.2% drop for the small-cap Russell 2000.
Weakness in chip stocks weighed heavily, following reports tied to slowing growth at OpenAI.
Big tech remains in focus today, as results are due after the close from four of the 'Magnificent Seven' – Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft – which is likely to set the tone for markets in the coming days.
"Now let’s be clear," said market analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone, "one WSJ story doesn’t unwind the AI trade. But it does raise a legitimate question considering what is happening after the bell tonight."
He said the key question investors and analysts are going to be asking is 'are the hyperscalers spending money – think $625 billion in 2026 – like there’s NO tomorrow on AI capex, chasing a customer base that isn’t growing fast enough to justify it?"
Before that, the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged, with investors watching closely for comments on inflation, particularly as the ongoing lack of progress in US-Iran talks has seen WTI crude rise another 3.3% to over $103 a barrel.
"This will be Jerome Powell’s last monetary policy meeting before he steps down as chair," said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
He is set to be replaced by President Trump’s choice, Kevin Warsh, who needs approval from the Senate first.
The key issue today, said Morrison, "is hearing the Fed’s view on the war, as it relates to high oil prices, and thereby their outlook for inflation for the rest of the year.
"Could the FOMC indicate that rates could be raised this year? According to the CME’s FedWatch Tool the probability of no change in rates in 2026 now stands at 78%, so any hawkishness could throw a spanner in the works as far as risk appetite is concerned."
The latest from the White House was a post from President Trump: "Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!"
Earnings ahead of the bell include AbbVie and a host of European names with secondary listings in New York: AstraZeneca, Total Energies, UBS and GSK.