Screens show the Fed’s rate announcement as traders work at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., October 28, 2026. Jeenah Moon | ReutersUSA Stock futures fell Wednesday night as investors digested the latest round of hyperscale gains. Nasdaq-100 futures lost 1.2%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.5%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added more than 0.49%, while the Topix fell 0.16%. The Kospi fell 2.44%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 3.43%. The Australian benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.34%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.24%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.64%. In after-hours trading, Microsoft advanced 3% after growth in the software giant’s Azure cloud infrastructure business helped it post better results in the fiscal first quarter, according to LSEG. That contrasts sharply with Alphabet’s 9% decline after adjusted earnings per share and revenue missed expectations in the third quarter, and the company posted negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion. The company maintained its full-year capital spending forecast at $195 billion to $205 billion. The results come at a time when the artificial intelligence trade is in the spotlight. AI stocks, such as the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) and the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), have been on a rough patch for most of October, only to pick up in recent days. Chips helped lift the broader market to a winning regular session on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising for a third straight day as Micron Technology jumped nearly 6% and Broadcom added more than 2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also posted a gain, advancing 0.3%. Earlier on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve decided to keep rates steady, leaving the central bank’s benchmark interest rate in a range between 3.75% and 4%. The decision to hold was widely expected, as the Federal Open Market Committee issued a quarter-percentage-point increase in September. This time, central bank policymakers noted that inflation “remains elevated” but also said they were waiting for the “accumulation of more information” before taking further action. The Fed’s decision “can be interpreted as slightly dovish at the margin, but we think it is best viewed as an expression of patience rather than a move away from a tightening bias,” said Daniel Siluk, head of global short duration and liquidity at Janus Henderson Investors. “The door remains open to further adjustment, but the Committee appears willing to wait for incoming data to validate the need for additional measures.” Traders will get more information on the economy on Thursday, when the September Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index report is released. The PCE is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator. The first reading of third quarter GDP and weekly unemployment claims is also scheduled. On the earnings front, all eyes will be on quarterly reports from Caterpillar and Eli Lilly in the morning, followed by Amazon and Intel after the market closes.
