US pre-open: Futures edge higher as Fed holds rates, tech earnings roll in

29th Jan 2026 10:46

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Thursday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and multiple big-name tech firms reported earnings overnight.

As of 1215 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.10%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.20% and 0.26% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed just 12.19 points higher on Wednesday, doing little to reclaim heavy losses recorded in the previous session.

Tech earnings were in focus prior to the open after social media giant Meta delivered a stronger‑than‑expected fourth quarter performance on Wednesday, on the back of a solid performance by its advertising business, while electric carmaker Tesla posted slightly better‑than‑expected fourth‑quarter results, even as full‑year revenue slipped 3% - the first annual decline on record.

Software giant Microsoft, on the other hand, traded lower in pre-market action despite topping quarterly expectations, after it reported a slight slowdown in cloud growth.

In terms of Thursday's earnings reports, trade bellwether Caterpillar posted increased quarterly profit and revenues, driven by AI-fueled power equipment demand, but flagged a $2.6bn tariff hit for 2026.

Still to come, Mastercard and Lockheed Martin were slated to report before the open, while Apple and Visa will report after the close.

The Federal Reserve was also in focus after the central bank left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, holding its benchmark range at 3.5%-3.75% after three cuts late last year, as policymakers waited for clearer evidence on how earlier easing is feeding through to the economy.

Officials have signalled they want more time to assess the impact of those reductions and indicated policy would only be loosened once price pressures begin to ease. "Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated," the Fed said, adding that the committee remained alert to risks on both sides of its mandate.

The decision came as the central bank faces heightened scrutiny over its independence, with the Supreme Court reviewing a case that could have major implications for its authority. Chairman Jerome Powell earlier this month publicly pushed back against pressure from the Trump administration and reiterated a strong defence of Fed independence in his post-meeting presser, describing it as essential to preventing political influence over monetary policy and warning that its erosion would be difficult to reverse.

Spot gold was also drawing an amount of investor attention after surpassing the $5,500 mark in overnight trading, last up 3.76%, as it continued to surge to new records as the US dollar continued to slide. The US dollar index, meanwhile, was down 0.04% at 96.41 early on Thursday after sinking to its lowest level in four years on Wednesday.

Donald Trump played down the recent weakness in the US dollar during a visit to Iowa, telling reporters he viewed the currency's slide positively as he pointed to what he described as strong underlying economic activity.

The softer USD has also helped push several major currencies to multi‑year highs, with the Swiss franc climbing to its strongest level against the greenback in more than a decade, while the euro also strengthened, rising to $1.20 and marking its biggest weekly advance since last spring.

On Thursday's macro slate, weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department will be published at 1330 GMT, as will November wholesale inventories figures, Q3 nonfarm productivity numbers, and November's goods and services trade balance report, while November factory orders data will follow at 1500 GMT.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com