US markets today: Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures indicate mixed open; key focus on tech earnings, US Fed outcome

Dow Jones futures were trading 0.65% lower at 52,600 points ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday, indicating a nearly 150-point lower opening on July 29, according to Investing.com data.

The S&P 500 index futures were trading flat at 7,466 points, indicating a flat opening on Wednesday’s market, when compared to the previous market close levels.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were trading 0.03% lower at 27,913 points, indicating a nearly 150-point higher opening when compared to the previous Wall Street close level, according to the exchange data.

Key things to watch before US market opens

US markets recap

The benchmark indices in the United States ended on a mixed note, with the Dow and S&P 500 closing in the green, while the Nasdaq closed in the red as investors focused on earnings performance amid massive tech selloff pressure from the Asian markets on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.03% higher at 52,747.32 points after Tuesday’s trading session, compared to 52,210 points at the previous stock market close, according to MarketWatch data.

The S&P 500 index ended 0.21% higher at 7,428.78 points after the trading session on July 28, in comparison to 7,413.18 points at the previous equity market close,

In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index closed 0.98% lower at 27,763.13 points after Tuesday’s trading session, compared to 28,039.21 points at the previous Wall Street close, as per the exchange data.

Stocks to watch on July 29

Tech selloff in Asian markets

The selloff among tech stocks in Asian markets continued during Wednesday’s trading session as global investors' sentiment remained sceptical about the AI hardware returns on investment, while tech earnings in America remained in focus.

MarketWatch data showed that Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended 2.5% lower at 61,434 points, while South Korea’s KOSPI crashed to end 6% lower at 5,663 points after Wednesday’s trading session.

Stocks like SK Hynix, Hyundai, and Samsung were among the other major losers in Asia.

US Fed policy outcome in focus

The US Federal Reserve’s FOMC is set to announce the outcome of its two-day policy meeting at 2:00 pm (ET) on July 29, which will be 11:30 pm (IST) for people in India.

In the last June policy meeting, the committee kept the benchmark interest rates for the US economy unchanged at the current range of 3.50% to 3.75%.

“The Fed should hold at 3.50 to 3.75% tonight, a fifth consecutive pause, and the more interesting question for Indian investors is what a pause of this quality delivers. This is not a Fed holding because it is finished; it is a Fed holding because crude's 14% collapse after the US-Iran de-escalation bought it the luxury of waiting,” said Harshal Dasani, Business Head of INVAsset PMS.