The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the pullback seen in the previous session.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement later this afternoon.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 100 percent chance the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged for the third straight meeting.
With the Fed's decision a near-certainty, traders are likely to pay closer attention to the central bank's accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.
However, as the Fed is unlikely to provide specific details about future rate decisions, traders may shift their focus to key earnings news from big-name tech companies.
Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.
With the tech giants part of the so-called "Magnificent Seven," their results could have a significant impact on the markets amid resurfacing concerns about AI spending.
Meanwhile, traders seem to have shrugged off another surge by the price of crude oil, even as U.S. crude oil futures spike above $100 a barrel following President Donald Trump's latest threats against Iran.
"Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social along with a picture showing him holding a rifle and the words "No more Mr. Nice Guy!"
After ending Monday's choppy session narrowly mixed, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a notable slump.
The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still in negative territory. The Nasdaq slid 223.30 points or 0.9 percent to 24,663.80, the S&P 500 fell 35.11 points or 0.5 percent to 7,138.90 and the Dow edged down 25.86 points or 0.1 percent to 49,141.93.
The Nasdaq pulled back well off Monday's record closing high as companies tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure came under pressure after a report from the Wall Street Journal said OpenAI recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ said the stumbles have raised concern among some company leaders about whether OpenAI will be able to support its massive spending on data centers.
Oracle (ORCL), which has a massive, multi-year partnership with OpenAI to build AI infrastructure, tumbled by 4.1 percent on the day.
Chipmakers Broadcom (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA) also showed notable moves to the downside.
An extended surge by the price of crude oil also weighed on Wall Street, with U.S. crude oil futures spiking above $100 a barrel before giving back ground.
Crude oil prices have soared over the past few sessions amid an ongoing stalemate in the Middle East conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
The latest jump comes amid indications President Donald Trump is unlikely to accept Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, while setting aside discussions on Iran's nuclear program.
Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that Iran is in a "state of collapse" and wants to open the Strait or Hormuz as quickly as possible as they try to figure out their leadership situation.
CNN reported that Iran is coming up with a "revised proposal" and added that mediators in Pakistan are awaiting the new plan to end the war.
Gold stocks saw substantial weakness on the day amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 4.6 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 3.6 percent.
Computer hardware, networking and airline stocks also saw considerable weakness, while oil and natural gas stocks moved to the upside
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are $4.17 to $104.10 a barrel after spiking $3.56 to $99.93 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,570.30, down $38.10 compared to the previous session's close of $4,608.40. On Tuesday, gold tumbled $85.30.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.93 yen compared to the 159.61 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1699 compared to yesterday's $1.1711.
Asia
Asian stocks edged higher on Wednesday after reports suggested that Iran will likely file a revised proposal for ending the war to Pakistani mediators in the coming days. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.
Investors also awaited cues from big tech earnings and Jerome Powell's final FOMC meeting as Fed chair. The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates steady later today due to lack of data confirming an inflationary shock.
Gold edged lower in Asian trading, drifting to around $4,570 an ounce as the dollar firmed and Brent crude prices remained elevated above $113 a barrel on mounting uncertainty around global supply.
China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.7 percent to 4,107.51 even as shares of Baidu and other robotaxi firms fell on reports of Beijing suspending approvals for new autonomous driving permits.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.7 percent to 26,111.84, with lithium battery stocks performing well.
Seoul stocks scaled a new peak on revived hopes for the artificial intelligence boom after the Financial Times reported that investors are betting on a prolonged boom for memory chipmakers amid continued AI demand.
The Kospi recovered opening losses to close 0.8 percent higher at 6,690.90, marking a new record high and extending gains for a third consecutive session.
Memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1.8 percent and AI investment firm SK Square rallied 2.3 percent.
Australian markets ended slightly lower despite inflation surprising to the downside and easing pressure on the Reserve Bank ahead of next week's crucial interest-rate decision.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 0.3 percent to 8,687, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed 0.2 percent lower at 8,915.70.
Ooh!Media shares soared 33 percent after the outdoor advertising company said it is evaluating a takeover bid from Pacific Equity Partners.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index finished marginally higher at 12,770.30 after a choppy session.
Europe
European stocks traded lower on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump was unhappy with Tehran's latest proposal to end the war and has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iranian ports.
Fears of tightened supply sent Brent crude prices soaring toward $115 a barrel, rekindling inflation and interest-rate worries.
While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line.
Swiss dental implants maker Straumann Holding rose nearly 2 percent after it delivered 7.1 percent growth in organic revenue for the first quarter of 2026, exceeding analysts' estimates.
Banking giant UBS surged 4.7 percent after profits jumped 80 percent in the first quarter.
Drugmaker Sandoz fell 2.4 percent despite reporting strong biosimilars growth in the first quarter of 2026.
Iberdrola, Europe's largest utility, lost about 2 percent after its first quarter net profit declined 15 percent year-on-year.
British drugmaker GSK traded 1.8 percent lower despite delivering a strong first quarter performance and affirming its 2026 guidance.
Likewise, AstraZeneca dropped 1.3 percent despite posting better-than-expected first quarter earnings.
Lender Lloyds Banking Group dropped 1 percent after it warned of the impact from the Iran war on the global economy.
Dutch operator KPN gave up 2.7 percent after reporting a modest 2.1 percent rise in first quarter sales.
German sportswear brand Adidas soared 6 percent after reporting stronger-than-expected first quarter operating profit and sales.
Lender Deutsche Bank fell 1.7 percent after revealing higher credit risk provisions and negative currency impacts.
U.S. Economic News
New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rebounded by more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders climbed by 0.8 percent in March after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in February.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 1.3 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders grew by 0.9 percent in March after jumping by 1.2 percent in February. Ex-transportation orders were expected to increase by 0.4 percent.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed a sharp increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of March but a steep drop in building permits.
The Commerce Department said housing starts soared by 10.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.502 million in March from a rate of 1.356 million in February. Economists had expected housing starts to come in at an annual rate of 1.400 million.
Meanwhile, the report said building permits plummeted by 10.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.372 million in March from a rate of 1.538 million in February.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to come in at an annual rate of 1.390 million.
At 10:30 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended April 24th.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision at 2 pm ET, followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference at 2:30 pm ET.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.