Stocks set to open slightly higher
Wall Street is likely to open higher on Wednesday, as market players thumb over more key quarterly earnings, specifically those from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
The tech giant posted record quarterly earnings and revenue on Tuesday, thanks in part to its services business and its iPhone 11 lineup. Apple also provided an upbeat revenue guidance for the current quarter, pushing its shares up 2.03% to $324.15 in after-hours trade.
As of 4:20 a.m. EST Wednesday, the blue-chip Dow futures rose gained 26 points, or 0.09% to 28,736. The S&P 500 futures rose 5.13 points, or 0.16% to 3,283.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were up 21.63 pints, or 0.24% to 9,126.88.
Boeing, Tesla, Facebook, Microsoft earnings on watch
Investors are also awaiting more corporate earnings today, including from Boeing (NYSE: BA) which will report before the bell. Others announcing ahead of the bell include McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), General Electric (NYSE: GE), and AT&T (NYSE: T).
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) will publish their quarterly earnings after the markets close.
Fed seen keeping interest rates unchanged
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady in the 1.50% to 1.75% at the end of its first policy meeting of 2020 on Wednesday, despite ongoing pressure from President Donald Trump to reduce them.
Fed chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues are also likely to maintain their wait-and-see approach, which they took after slashing rates three times between July and October last year.
The central bank is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, and Powell will hold a press conference from 2:30 p.m. ET.
Airlines suspend flights to China because of the coronavirus scare
In other news, traders are closely monitoring developments on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on financial markets.
The highly infectious virus has forced global airlines such as British Airways, Seoul Air, and Lion Air to halt all flights to China, while others like United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL), Cathay Pacific, and Air Canada have cut back service as fears mount.
According to a statement released by China’s National Health Commission on Wednesday, the virus has killed 132 people in that country and infected nearly 6,000 others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday expanded screening for the virus to 20 U.S. airports.
