Dow futures flat as Fed hikes 0.25%, Meta surges 19.4% after results

By Oliver Gray 

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were trading mixed during Wednesday’s evening deals, following a mixed regular session as traders digested a widely expected 0.25% rate hike from Federal Reserve policymakers, with Chairman Jerome Powell noting that officials remain unconvinced that inflation is easing over the long term.

By 6:30PM ET (11:30PM GMT) Dow Jones Futures were little changed, S&P 500 Futures lifted 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 Futures were up 1.1%.

In extended deals, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) popped 19.4% after the company reported Q4 EPS of $1.76 versus $2.26 expected, while revenue was reported at $32.17 billion versus $31.53B expected.

The results also lifted fellow tech companies. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) gained 3.9%, Pinterest Inc (NYSE:PINS) added 4.8% and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) lifted 3.7%

Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) added 16.1%, reporting Q4 EPS of $1.73 versus $1.54 expected on revenue of $901.5M versus $892M expected.

ELF Beauty Inc (NYSE:ELF) popped 13.7% after the company reported Q3 EPS of $0.48 versus $0.23 expected, while revenue came in at $146.54M versus $121.81M expected.

CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) dipped 4.9% after reporting Q4 EPS of $1.03 versus $1.36 expected, on revenues of $5.1B versus $5.69B expected.

Ahead in Thursday’s session, market participants will be focusing on jobless claims, productivity, and factory orders data, amid a fresh batch of earnings from companies including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F).

During Wednesday’s trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished little changed at 34,093, the S&P 500 gained 42.6 points or 1.1% to 4,119.2 and the NASDAQ Composite lifted 231.8 points or 2% to 11,816.3.

On the bond markets, United States 10-Year rates were at 3.417%.