Dow futures slip, tech earnings and Fed policy decision in focus

Investing.com - US stock futures were trading lower during Sunday night, as investors turned attention to major technology earnings reports as well as the Federal Reserve interest rates decision.

By 6:35 pm ET (11:15 pm GMT) Dow Jones Futures dipped 0.2% while S&P 500 Futures and Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.3% apiece.

The previous trading week saw all three major indexes rise, buoyed by positive economic data. The US economy displayed stronger-than-expected growth in Q4, while annual core inflation was lower than economists' predictions, hinting at a possible slowdown in price hikes. However, the market's gains were somewhat subdued compared to the rally of the week before, following disappointing earnings reports from major companies such as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).

The upcoming week is set to be eventful, with the Federal Reserve's first policy meeting of the year on the agenda, accompanied by significant data releases such as the nonfarm payrolls, ISM Manufacturing PMI, and JOLTs job openings. The Fed is anticipated to keep interest rates at their 23-year high, with investors keen to discern any signals about the timing of rate cuts this year.

On the data front, it's expected that non-farm payrolls may have increased by 162K in January, a slowdown from the 216K rise in December. The unemployment rate is predicted to remain stable at 3.7% for a second period, while monthly wage growth is likely to ease to 0.3% from 0.4%. The ISM PMI is expected to continue signaling a contraction in the manufacturing sector at the year's start.

Investors will also be keeping a close eye on the ADP employment change, Q4 labor productivity and employment costs, factory orders, and regional industry indexes such as the Chicago PMI and Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index.

The ongoing earnings season will continue to make headlines, with a roster of key companies set to report, including tech giants like Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), and others such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD), Automatic Data Processing Inc (NASDAQ:ADP), Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM), Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO), and Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX).

Stay up to date with the latest earnings results using InvestingPro! Use discount code “INVPRODEAL” and receive an additional 10% off the InvestingPro+ bi-yearly subscription. Click here! and don't forget the discount code.

In Friday's regular trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 60.3 points or 0.2% to 38,109.4, while the S&P 500 fell by 3.2 points or 0.1% to 4,891, and the NASDAQ Composite dropped 55.1 points or 0.4% to 15,455.4.

On the bond markets, the United States 10-Year rates stood at 4.137%.