US pre-open: Futures mixed after Fed keeps rates at near zero

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Thursday after the Federal Reserve vowed to keep interest rates near zero at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting.

As of 1225 BST, Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were up 0.41% and 0.18%, respectively, while Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.14%.

The Dow closed 127.59 points lower on Wednesday as market participants digested earnings from major US firms and the outcome of the Federal Reserve's latest two-day meeting.

Overnight, the US central bank dropped a small hint that policymakers had come a bit further down the path towards announcing the start of tapering its purchases of government debt.

In its latest policy statement, the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank's rate-setting body, said that more progress had been made towards meeting their dual mandate for maximum employment and stable inflation.

The committee said would continue "to assess progress in coming meetings" but for now, it will keep rates near zero.

AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam said: "Investors should keep in mind that, while the economy is quickly recovering, it still has a long way to go before reaching full employment. In this context, the central bank would be foolish to reduce bond purchases and raise interest rates, as this would not only stifle economic growth but also risk a stagflationary environment.

"As a result, investors should expect equity markets to remain volatile in the short term due to daily earnings announcements, the release of economic reports, news related to the coronavirus situation, and updates on major economies around the world."

In the corporate space, PayPal and Facebook were in the red after warning of significant slowdowns to growth in their quarterly earnings, while Ford traded higher after the carmaker stated it hold sold more higher-priced vehicles last quarter.

Amazon, Pinterest and Anheuser-Busch will all report earnings throughout the course of the day.

On the macro front, quarterly GDP figures will be published at 1330 BST, as will this week's jobless claims data from the Labor Department and core PCE numbers, while pending home sales data for June will follow at 1500 BST.