US stock futures fall with Fed meeting, mega tech earnings on tap

Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures retreated in evening deals on Monday as sentiment remained strained in anticipation of a Federal Reserve meeting and earnings from some of the country’s biggest companies. 

A rebound in technology stocks ran out of steam this week, with the sector nursing deep losses over the past two weeks amid profit-taking, a shift into more economically sensitive sectors and underwhelming earnings from Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). 

Traders were reluctant to buy back into the sector, with several tech majors set to report quarterly earnings this week, beginning with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). 

S&P 500 Futures fell 0.2% to 5,494.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.2% to 19,169.75 points by 19:13 ET (23:13 GMT). Dow Jones Futures fell 0.2% to 40,707.0 points. 

Microsoft to kick off next round of major tech earnings 

The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant is set to report its June quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday.

While the firm is set to clock strong growth in earnings on the back of more artificial intelligence products, investors will be watching for any increased expenditure, and whether AI demand appeared to be sufficiently boosting earnings. 

The increased caution comes after high AI spending and some sluggish revenue metrics soured otherwise strong earnings from peer Alphabet last week. The stock had tumbled after its earnings. 

Beyond Microsoft, tech heavyweights Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) are set to report earnings on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Other major earnings are also on tap this week, with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD), Merck&Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), Procter&Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) due in the coming days. 

Wall Street indexes were largely unchanged on Monday amid caution ahead of the earnings. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,463.54 points, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.1% to 17,370.33 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 40,539.93 points.

Fed meeting awaited for more rate cues 

Markets were also on edge before a Fed meeting this week, with the bank widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of the meeting on Wednesday. 

But any signals on when the bank plans to begin cutting rates will be closely watched, given encouraging signs from inflation and positive comments from Fed officials in recent months. 

Markets are pricing in a 25 basis point cut by the Fed in September, according to CME Fedwatch.