U.S. stocks paused on Tuesday as investors bided their time before the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and Amazon’s (AMZN) earnings rose to test the prospects for another Big Tech-fueled rally.
Futures on the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) slipped about 0.1% after closing with small gains. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fluctuated below the flatline.
In a week in which Fed concerns proved to be a counterweight to better-than-expected quarterly results, stocks struggled to advance, with surprises from companies like Paramount (PARA) and Tesla (TSLA) also contributing.
Investors are counting on policymakers to keep interest rates at historically high levels at the Fed’s two-day meeting scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The prospect of interest rate cuts has declined dramatically since the start of the year, helping to push up Treasury yields – a well-known systemic problem for stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note (^TNX) remained near a six-month high of around 4.63% early Tuesday.
Amazon’s results after the bell will be closely watched after stellar earnings from Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) raised hopes of a “Magnificent Seven” rise this season. So far, Big Tech’s results have impressed Wall Street and made clear its impatience with big AI spending.
Highlights of the early earnings list include Coca-Cola (KO) and McDonald’s (MCD), while AMD (AMD) and Starbucks (SBUX) are also added after the market closes.
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