US pre-open: Futures mixed ahead of earnings, Fed rate decision

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the open on Wednesday as market participants continued to digest earnings from major US firms and awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's latest two-day meeting.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.17%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.01% and 0.13% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 85.79 points lower on Tuesday, with major averages pulling back from record highs and snapping a five-day winning streak.

Focus will again be on earnings throughout the early part of the day, with Alphabet shares in the green in pre-market after the Google parent posted a 69% jump in quarterly advertising revenues, while Apple shares were in the red despite beating both top and bottom-line estimates.

Microsoft also traded higher before the bell despite reporting a contraction of revenues in its Windows unit, while McDonald's posted a marked increase in quarterly sales on the back of new menu items.

Drugmaker Pfizer raised its 2021 full-year guidance from $26.0bn to $33.5bn after revealing it had sold $7.8bn worth of Covid-19 shots in the second quarter.

Ford will report its latest quarterly results throughout the course of the day, while after the close, earnings from Qualcomm, Facebook and PayPal will all be on tap.

On the macro front, the number of Americans applying for home mortgages increased in the week ended 23 July, driven by an increase in refinancing activity and a drop in purchase activity amid falling mortgage rates. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, its seasonally adjusted market index rose 5.7% from a week earlier, reflecting a 9.3% increase in applications to refinance existing loans and a 1.6% decline in purchase applications. The average contract interest rate for traditional 30-year mortgages also decreased, down to 3.01% from 3.11% - its lowest level since February.

Still to come, an advance reading of the US goods trade balance will be released at 1330 BST.

For the latter part of the day, attention will shift towards the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision at 1900 BST and the central bank's subsequent press conference at 1930 BST.