U.S. stock futures edge higher after bruising tech losses; Fed, earnings on tap

 U.S. stock index futures rose slightly on Sunday evening after logging deep, technology-driven losses through the past week, with focus turning to a Federal Reserve meeting and a host of major earnings this week.

S&P 500 Futures rose 0.13% to 7,669.0 points by 19:40 ET (23:40 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.1% to 29,151.50 points, and Dow Jones Futures rose 0.12% to 52,455.0 points. 

Futures steadied after the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite logged two straight weeks of losses, hurt chiefly by a wipeout in tech and artificial intelligence valuations. 

Microsoft, Alphabet to report this week

A host of major third-quarter earnings are due this week, with Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) and Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL) set to report on Monday. 

Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), and Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) will be the largest companies to report on Tuesday. Tech majors Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) are set to report on Wednesday, while Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) will report on Thursday.

The megacap tech earnings are expected to provide more insight on the AI trade, with investors also wary of any more margin dilution stemming from the billions of dollars being invested in the AI buildout. 

Focus will also be on Wall Street’s plans for more investment in AI, which has become a point of contention for investors amid growing doubts over whether the massive infrastructure spending will generate adequate returns.

This notion was a major weight on tech and AI valuations in recent weeks, as investors also balked at a brewing debt crisis among cloud providers. 

Fed meeting on tap, expected to hold 

The Federal Reserve is set to kick off a two-day meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged after a 25 basis point hike to 4.0% in September. 

But markets are expected to be wary of any potentially hawkish signals from the central bank, especially in the face of sticky U.S. inflation. 

Expectations for a 25 bps hike in December have rapidly risen in recent weeks, given that inflation remains well above the Fed’s 2% annual target. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference after the Fed decision on Wednesday is expected to offer more cues on the outlook for rates.