Nasdaq futures fall over 300 points after key results; Fed policy treated as non-event by Wall Street

Nasdaq futures fell nearly 350 points in early trading on Thursday, October 29, Indian time, after results reported by key big tech companies - Google-parent Alphabet, and Microsoft. Shares of Alphabet fell 10% in extended trading, thereby pressuring the Nasdaq futures, while Microsoft shares are looking to offset some of that impact, rising 2.5% after its results announcement.

Wednesday's Wall Street session was a choppy and rangebound one for the US benchmark indices, as all of them managed to close just above the flat line, treating the US Federal Reserve's status quo policy as a non-event of sorts and shifting focus to the December announcement. The Dow Jones ended 0.2% higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained 0.3% by the close of the session.

How Was The Fed Policy?

On expected lines, the Fed decided to keep rates unchanged at 3.75% to 4%, but unlike the last time, when the vote was a unanimous one, there were two dissenters this time around. The FOMC said that they will wait for further information before determining the future policy path. No negative surprises meant that the markets let this policy pass.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh acknowledged that inflation remains elevated and that the committee remains committed to deliver on price stability.

Why Alphabet Shares Fell 10%?

Shares of the Google-parent fell as it not only missed street expectations on the third quarter results front, but also turned free cash flow negative during the quarter, similar to Meta. This is the first time in four years that Alphabet's results have missed street expectations.

Analysts had anticipated that Alphabet will report negative free cash flow, but the $9.07 billion figure turned out to be much higher than the $2.7 billion anticipated.

Alphabet maintained its full year capex guidance to be between $195 billion to $205 billion, but expects that to rise to $300 billion in 2027, further adding to the concerns.

How Did Microsoft Fare In Q1 FY27?

While Alphabet disappointed, Microsoft's results turned out to be better-than-expectations across parameters, led by a 48% growth in Azure cloud infrastructure business.

The company now expects $96 billion to $97.1 billion in Q2 revenue, higher than the average estimate of analysts, which stood at $95.6 billion. Azure may grow between 49% to 50% in constant currency terms, also higher than the 45.1% estimate.

The stock rose 3% in extended trading after the results announcement.

Key Triggers For Wall Street Today

It is another data-heavy and earnings-led day on Wall Street as the first estimate of the Q3 GDP numbers will be released. The Atlanta Fed survey is pointing towards a 3.5% growth figure for the US economy this time around.

Apart from the GDP numbers, the initial jobless claims, and the crucial Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) inflation data will also be reported later this evening.

On the results front, Amazon, among the big tech names will report after market hours, along with names like Eli Lilly & Co., Mastercard, Intel, Merck & Co., and many others.