US session: U.S. futures are expected to open higher after Meta jumps, but Microsoft drop limits gains

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. Front and center

After the Federal Reserve, as expected, decided yesterday to keep its key interest rate unchanged, attention turned to Powell’s post-announcement press conference — his first since it became known that he is under criminal investigation.

Here’s what to know:

• Powell described the economy as being on “firm footing” and said the Fed does not see current monetary policy as “significantly restrictive.”
• As has become the norm in recent months, not all Fed Committee members were aligned. This time, two governors, Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller, broke ranks and lobbied for another quarter-point rate cut.
• Pressed for comment on several political issues rocking the Fed — including the criminal probe tied to his congressional testimony about renovations to the central bank’s headquarters — Powell repeatedly said variations of “I have nothing for you on that.”
• A person familiar with the matter told CNBC yesterday that the Fed has not yet complied with grand jury subpoenas issued as part of the ongoing investigation.
• However, there was one political topic Powell did comment on: Fed Governor Lisa Cook’s Supreme Court case. Powell, who attended oral arguments last week, called it “perhaps the most important legal case in the Fed’s 113-year history.”
• S&P 500 crossed the 7,000 mark for the first time yesterday ahead of the Fed decision, after which the index pulled back.

2. The tale of two tech firms

Shares of Meta jumped more than 8% in after-hours trading after the Facebook parent exceeded fourth-quarter earnings expectations on both lines and issued strong sales guidance. As CNBC’s Jonathan Vanian reports, Wall Street appears to be giving Meta’s artificial intelligence spending plans its approval.

But the report was not entirely positive: Meta’s Reality Labs unit reported an operating loss of $6.02 billion, larger than the $5.67 billion loss forecasted by the Street. The tech giant also reported a 21% year-over-year increase in losses for its metaverse-focused business in the quarter.

On the other hand, shares of Microsoft fell 7% overnight. Despite also surpassing Wall Street forecasts on both lines, the Washington-based company reported cooling cloud growth and light operating margin guidance.

3. End of the road

Tesla posted stronger-than-expected revenue and earnings for the fourth quarter yesterday, sending its shares up around 2%. However, the electric vehicle maker also reported its first full-year sales decline on record.

CEO Elon Musk said on Tesla’s earnings call that the Texas-based company will sunset production of its Model S and X vehicles. As CNBC’s Lora Kolodny and Ari Levy note, the two models are Tesla’s oldest and have seen significant price cuts in recent years. Musk said Tesla will instead use its Fremont, California, factory to build Optimus humanoid robots.

In its earnings report, Tesla also announced an investment of around $2 billion in xAI. The startup, also run by Musk and founded in 2023 as a potential competitor to OpenAI, is best known for its Grok chatbot, which has recently placed the company under global regulatory scrutiny.

4. Bet on the dollar

The U.S. dollar index regained some ground yesterday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed reports that the U.S. might intervene in the currency market.

In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said the U.S. would “absolutely not” intervene, following a report that the New York Fed was reviewing dollar-to-yen rates with dealers. The dollar index fell to multiyear lows on Tuesday after President Donald Trump signaled he was comfortable with the greenback’s current value.

The index, which measures the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, has fallen more than 10% over the past 12 months. As CNBC’s Chloe Taylor reports, some market participants now see the dollar in a bear market.

5. Big bank

Trump accounts — tax-advantaged savings accounts for children — received additional support yesterday.

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo all said they would match the U.S. government’s one-time contribution to the accounts for eligible employees. Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner also announced a commitment to seed accounts for kids in Indiana, his home state.

Rapper Nicki Minaj said she would contribute between $150,000 and $300,000 to fund accounts for fans. “If I had access to something like this, my whole life would have been different,” she said at a summit promoting the accounts yesterday. It is still unclear exactly who will be eligible for these funds.

Stock futures rise Thursday as traders digest earnings from major tech companies and the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision

Futures linked to the S&P 500 added 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 42 points, or 0.1%.

Meta Platforms added 8% in premarket trading after the Facebook parent gave a stronger-than-expected first-quarter sales forecast. Fellow “Magnificent Seven” member Tesla shares also rose 2% after the company’s fourth-quarter results beat expectations.

However, broad market gains were limited by Microsoft’s 6% drop. The tech giant reported slower cloud growth in the fiscal second quarter and issued soft operating margin guidance for the fiscal third quarter.

Investors are now turning their attention to Apple, which is set to report earnings after the bell Thursday.

Elsewhere in earnings, Caterpillar shares rose more than 1% after the industrial giant reported fourth-quarter results that easily beat Street expectations.

Stocks follow a nearly flat session after the S&P 500 briefly crossed the 7,000 threshold following the Fed’s decision to keep its benchmark interest rate in the 3.5% to 3.75% range. The 30-stock Dow added just 12 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed about 0.2%, supported by gains in Nvidia and Micron Technology.

In its post-meeting statement, the Federal Open Market Committee noted that indicators suggest “economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace” and that the unemployment rate “has shown signs of stabilization.” Still, fed funds futures trading still prices in two quarter-point cuts by the end of 2026, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

“The Fed statement was largely as expected, and markets tend to move on surprises,” said Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “We are looking to earnings and economic data to drive the next leg higher, but also would not be surprised to see some midterm-election-related volatility in 2026.”

Safe-haven demand among investors continues to rise, with gold and silver prices hitting fresh highs Thursday. Gold futures rose 4%, while silver futures gained 5%.