As of 9:36 AM Eastern Time (13:36 Greenwich Mean Time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 22 points, just under 0.1%, while the S&P 500 fell by 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index decreased by 0.4%.
Microsoft and Alphabet released disappointing earnings reports. Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) stock price fell by 3.1% in early trading, despite exceeding expectations. The growth slowdown was attributed to a slower improvement in artificial intelligence capabilities. Meanwhile, Alphabet Inc.'s Class C shares (NASDAQ: GOOG) surged by 6.5% due to advertising revenue and cloud services rebounding more than expected.
These companies kicked off the earnings reporting season for large tech firms, with Facebook (NASDAQ: META) expected to release its earnings report later today.
Investors have driven up tech stock prices this year, hoping that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of interest rate hikes. The Nasdaq has risen by 34% this year, buoyed by the momentum in artificial intelligence.
Focus on the Federal Reserve's Decision The Federal Reserve will announce its decision today at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, followed by a press conference and live broadcast by Chair Jerome Powell. Investors will closely watch Powell's comments on the coming months and the Federal Reserve's stance on future directions.
The Federal Reserve said it would base its decisions on data, and although the data shows inflation cooling, the labor market remains tight. Futures traders broadly expect a 0.25 percentage point rate hike today, but they are divided on whether and when there will be another rate hike this year or if the Fed will pause after this hike.
Preliminary data for Q2 Gross Domestic Product will be released on Thursday morning, and the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures Index data will be released on Friday.
The next key event for the Federal Reserve is its annual meeting at the end of August in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Boeing reported a loss exceeding expectations. Among other stock movements, Boeing Company's (NYSE: BA) stock price rose by 5.8%, despite a larger-than-expected loss, while Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) saw its stock price fall by 0.4% after raising its annual revenue and profit forecasts.
Oil prices fell. West Texas Intermediate crude futures decreased by 0.7% to $79.03, while Brent crude futures fell by 0.6% to $82.77 a barrel. Gold futures rose by 0.2% to $1968.
