(Reuters) – Futures tracking the Dow and the Nasdaq fell on Wednesday after a mixed batch of earnings from big technology companies, while investors kept a close watch on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is expected to stick to its promise of keeping monetary policy loose.
Microsoft Corp met quarterly sales expectations and beat profit estimates, but its shares fell 2.4% in premarket trading on skepticism about one-off benefits included in the results and high hopes after a year-long rally.
Google parent Alphabet Inc jumped 5.2% on reporting record profit for the second consecutive quarter and a $50 billion share buyback but warned a surge in usage and ad sales during the pandemic may slow as people resume in-person activities.
Biotech Amgen Inc fell 3.6% as it said its first-quarter sales and profit fell due to a 7% drop in its net drug prices and a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the U.S. central bank’s policy statement, due to be released at 2 p.m. EDT, is expected to largely follow the mold established in December, when the Fed said it would not change monetary policy until there had been “substantial further progress” in meeting its maximum employment and 2% inflation goals.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest in more than two weeks. [US/]
Some of the top U.S. companies, including Boeing Co, Qualcomm Inc, Caterpillar Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp, are reporting their first-quarter earnings this week.
Facebook Inc is expected to report a rise in first-quarter revenue due to demand for online advertisements during the pandemic, while Apple Inc is expected to post a more than 32% jump in second-quarter revenue, driven by huge demand for its 5G iPhones.
Shares of Facebook rose 2.0%, while Apple fell 0.2%.
At 6:59 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 35 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 4.25 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 14.75 points, or 0.11%.
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to unveil a sweeping $1.8 trillion package for families and education in his first joint speech to Congress, senior White House officials say.
(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
