US Session: Caution on Wall Street Ahead of the Fed Decision

Stock traders took on some risk ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision, as tech giants Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Tesla Inc. began the earnings season for mega-companies. This happened just days after DeepSeek shook up the markets, leading to slight declines in the indices. The S&P 500 index dropped by 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 100 also fell by 0.3%. While the earnings of the tech giants from the “Magnificent Seven” continue to grow, forecasts indicate that growth will be the slowest in almost two years. Traders’ attention is focused on the Federal Reserve, with expectations that the authorities will halt interest rate cuts and look for signals regarding inflation from Chairman Jerome Powell. Among corporate news, ASML Holding NV recorded its largest increase since 2020, after receiving orders that exceeded analysts’ expectations by two times. The AI boom has significantly increased the demand for chip-making machines that the company produces. Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI are investigating whether data from OpenAI’s technology was wrongfully acquired by a group linked to the Chinese startup DeepSeek, according to sources familiar with the case. Alibaba also released major results, highlighting how its new AI model offers leading global performance. Apple Inc. is working with SpaceX and T-Mobile US Inc. to add support for the Starlink satellite network in the new iPhone software, providing an alternative to its internal satellite communication service. The company was downgraded from “outperform” to “neutral” by Oppenheimer, signaling caution ahead of the company’s results. Starbucks Corp. also reported better-than-expected results, attracting back customers who had stopped visiting the cafe. The company removed extra charges for non-dairy milks and started advertising focused on coffee. Investor attention is directed toward several key sectors. Alcoa and Century Aluminum are expected to be in the spotlight on Wednesday as aluminum prices rise, and the European Union prepares a proposal to gradually ban imports of the metal from Russia. Additionally, health and food companies will be closely watched, especially as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s presidential candidate for head of the Department of Health and Human Services, will face senators in committee hearings. The monitoring of oil producers is also exciting, as new data on US oil inventories is expected to be released.