The S&P 500 moved lower on Wednesday, while oil prices continued their rally amid a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Traders also awaited the conclusion of what could be Jerome Powell’s final policy meeting as Federal Reserve chair as well as quarterly earnings from four of the “Magnificent Seven.”
The broad market index traded down 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also shed 85 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5%.
Oil prices rose for another day on Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported that President Donald Trump has told aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures gained 4% to trade above $104 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 4% to trade above $116 a barrel.
Investors will be watching for any commentary from the Federal Reserve on inflation amid the conflict in the Middle East, as Wednesday will mark the conclusion of the April Fed policy meeting — which will likely be Powell’s last at the helm before his term as chair ends in May. Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominated successor, appears on track to take over for Powell at the central bank. The market does not expect the Fed to make any adjustments to the current federal funds rate.
Later Wednesday, four of the “Magnificent Seven” tech titans are on the docket to report their earnings after the closing bell: Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft. Investors have high expectations for these companies to show the revenue that will justify the capital they have spent on artificial intelligence investments.
“While earnings beats are largely expected from Wednesday’s big tech earnings, the market’s focus is squarely on forward guidance both on growth trajectories and the pace of future investment,” said Chris Brigati, chief investment officer at SWBC. “Each company faces its own dynamics, but delivering tangible results from elevated capex remains the critical test.”
Technology was a sore spot in the previous session after The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that OpenAI recently missed its own revenue and user growth targets. However, on Wednesday, both Seagate Technology and NXP Semiconductors popped more than 17% and 23%, respectively, after posting earnings beats and sharing positive revenue guidance.
S&P 500 opens little changed
The S&P 500 began Wednesday’s session little changed.
The broad market index traded around the flatline alongside the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 0.2%.
— Sean Conlon
What to expect when the Fed issues its latest interest rate decision Wednesday
In what could be Jerome Powell’s final meeting as Federal Reserve chair, he is expected to lead his fellow policymakers toward another cautious pause, with stubborn inflation and a resilient labor market leaving little room yet for interest rate cuts.
The decision Wednesday will come against a backdrop of elevated energy prices and a central bank that has been above its 2% inflation target for five years at the same time that the labor market has been weak but not in distress. That’s not a recipe for easing, at least not yet.
“On the dual mandate, they’d say we’re roughly at a stable labor market,” Roger Ferguson, an economist and former vice chair at the Fed, told CNBC. “On the inflation side of the mandate, [there’s] a lot more work to be done with a sticky 3% [inflation rate], and I hope they argue, ‘we’re going to sit tight for a little while to see how this all plays out.'” Read more.
— Jeff Cox
OpenAI hangs over tech hyperscaler earnings
With the four tech hyperscalers — Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft — set to report quarterly earnings after the close, hovering over their results is a single company that doesn’t even release its financials to the public: OpenAI.
The ChatGPT creator, now valued at more than $850 billion by private investors, has become a major market mover over the past year as its revenue and hefty spending are increasingly viewed as a proxy for the artificial intelligence trade. Read more.
— Jonathan Vanian
Seagate Technology, Booking Holdings, Mondelez International among the stocks making moves before the bell
Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:
- Seagate Technology — The data storage stock popped almost 18%. Seagate sees fiscal fourth-quarter revenue coming in at $3.45 billion, plus or minus $100 million, and adjusted earnings of $5 per share, plus or minus 20 cents. That compares to the LSEG estimate of $3.97 per share in earnings and revenue of $3.16 billion. Third-quarter results beat estimates on the top and bottom lines.
- Booking Holdings — Shares fell about 4.5% after the travel technology platform lowered its full-year adjusted earnings per share growth to the “low to mid-teens,” down from prior estimates in the “mid-teens,” citing lagging impacts from the Middle East conflict through the end of June. However, Booking posted both a beat on both the top and bottom lines for its first quarter. Shares of Expedia Group slipped about 3% in sympathy.
- Mondelez International — The maker of Oreo cookies and Sour Patch Kids candy added 1.5% after reporting first-quarter adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $10.08 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had anticipated earnings of 61 cents per share and $9.75 billion in revenue.
Read here for the full list.
— Davis Giangiulio and Lisa Kailai Han
Big Tech earnings take center stage
Aside from the Federal Reserve, investors will turn their attention to the four “Magnificent Seven” earnings reports due after the bell. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft are all on deck.
“Look for Mag7 earnings to be a positive catalyst, though positioning points to increasing probability of a near-term top forming, a slight consolidation (assuming no new catalysts emerge), before resuming the bull run,” traders at JPMorgan wrote.
— Fred Imbert
Asia-Pacific markets close mixed after OPEC shock, tech jitters drag Wall Street lower
Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed Wednesday, after Wall Street declined overnight as investors assess the latest developments concerning OPEC, as well as a report that pointed to weakness in OpenAI.
The United Arab Emirates will exit OPEC on May 1, in a major blow to the cartel that coordinates production among many of the world’s largest oil producers, particularly those in the Middle East.
Optimism around tech stocks took a hit as the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI’s revenue and new users’ growth was below its own targets. The report added that CFO Sarah Friar told the company leadership that she was concerned OpenAI might not be able to pay for computing contracts in the future if its top line did not expand fast enough.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.75% to end day at 6,690.9, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.39% to 1,220.26. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.27% to 8,687.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.2% as of its last hour of trade, while Mainland China’s CSI 300 gained 1.1% to 4,810.35.
Japan markets were closed for a holiday.
— Lee Ying Shan
Asia-Pacific markets open mixed after OPEC shock, tech jitters drag Wall Street lower
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Wednesday, after Wall Street declined overnight as investors assess the latest developments concerning OPEC, as well as a report that pointed to weakness in OpenAI.
The United Arab Emirates will exit OPEC on May 1, in a major blow to the cartel that coordinates production among many of the world’s largest oil producers, particularly those in the Middle East.
Optimism around tech stocks took hit as the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI’s revenue and new users growth was below its own targets. The report added that CFO Sarah Friar told the company leadership that she was concerned OpenAI may not be able to pay computing contracts in the future if its top line doesn’t expand fast enough.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.39%, while the small-cap Kosdaq traded flat. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.28%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.95%, while the CSI 300 was flat.
Japan markets were closed for a holiday.
— Lee Ying Shan
Wheat prices reach nearly two-year high, up 11% since start of Iran war
July wheat futures climbed to a high of $6.595 a bushel Tuesday, the highest since June 2024, bringing the gain since the start of the war with Iran to more than 11%. In April alone, wheat futures are ahead 6.8%, extending the year-to-date advance to 29.8% and on track to rise for a fourth straight month.
The National Association of Wheat Growers said major wheat-producing states are challenged by dry weather and recent USDA reports reflect a worsening outlook. Conditions have steadily declined in recent weeks, the farmers said.
July corn futures are higher by nearly 4% in April, up 6% since the start of the Iran war and up 8% since the start of the year.
— Gina Francolla and Scott Schnipper
Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: Starbucks, Robinhood and more
These are the stocks moving the most in after-hours trading:
- Starbucks — The coffee chain jumped nearly 5% after Starbucks raised its full-year outlook.
- Robinhood — The maker of the trading app saw shares tumble about 9% after first-quarter results fell short of expectations.
- Visa — The credit card payment giant saw shares rise almost 5%. Second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.31 per share and revenue of $11.23 billion surpassed analysts’ expectations.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
