(Updates with economic data, recent oil price movement, world markets' overview and corporate stock movements.)
US equity futures were edging lower pre-bell Thursday as the Federal Reserve maintained the target rate for federal funds and traders digested the financial results of several Big Tech companies.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were 1.2% lower.
The Federal Reserve held its policy rate steady at a range between 3.75% and 4% Wednesday in a split decision, while Chair Kevin Warsh announced a reduction in the number of rate-setting meetings from the current eight annually, in order to devote time for discussions on the strategy. In 2028, there will be two strategy meetings and six rate-setting meetings, he said.
Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) shares were down more than 11% after the company's Q3 earnings unexpectedly declined from a year ago and revenue missed analyst expectations.
Traders continued to evaluate the latest round of earnings, with Eli Lilly (LLY) reporting higher Q3 non-GAAP earnings and revenue.
Amazon (AMZN) and Intel (INTC) are expected to report their Q3 earnings after the market closes. Analysts polled by FactSet expect GAAP earnings of $1.97 per share on revenue of $202.22 billion for Amazon, and adjusted earnings of $0.41 on revenue of $16.56 billion for Intel.
Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 1% at $110.50 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 1.2% lower at $101.60 per barrel.
Initial jobless claims dropped to 194,000 in the week ended Oct. 24 from a downwardly revised 195,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 198,000 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The September core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.3%, meeting expectations and matching a similar gain in the prior month.
Q3 GDP growth was recorded at a 3.4% annual rate, compared with expectations for 3.2%. Personal income rose by 0.2% in September following August's 0.3% gain, lower than the expected 0.3% gain.
In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.1% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.6% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.8% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.6%, and Germany's DAX index was 1% higher in Europe's early afternoon session.
In equities, Microsoft (MSFT) shares rose 2.1% after the company posted a fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue beat late Wednesday. Shell (SHEL) stock was 4.4% higher after the company reported higher fiscal Q3 adjusted net income and revenue. Eli Lilly shares were up 4.2% after the company posted its Q3 financial results.
On the losing side, Caterpillar (CAT) stock fell more than 11% after the company reported Q3 revenue that fell short of consensus estimates. ServiceNow (NOW) shares were over 18% lower after a Q3 non-GAAP earnings miss. Trane Technologies (TT) stock was 6% lower despite the company posting higher adjusted earnings and revenue for Q3.
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