U.S. stock futures experienced a slight decline on Thursday as investors absorbed the implications of the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate decision and a meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. At 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), Dow Jones Futures fell by 90 points (0.2%), S&P 500 Futures decreased by 5 points (0.1%), and Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped by 17 points (0.1%).
The main U.S. indices closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones down 0.2% and the S&P 500 flat, reflecting cautious sentiment following the Fed's rate cut and uncertainty regarding further adjustments this year. In contrast, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite rose 0.6%, buoyed by Nvidia's historic performance, making it the first company to achieve a market valuation of $5 trillion.
Trump described his meeting with Xi as "amazing" but provided little clarity on trade negotiations. He mentioned a potential trade deal with China soon and indicated that there were no significant obstacles. He announced plans to visit China in April and noted that China would resume purchasing U.S. agricultural products, particularly soybeans, without disclosing specific figures. Additionally, Trump revealed a reduction in fentanyl tariffs on China to 10% while maintaining other tariffs around 47%.
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, marking a second consecutive cut but expressing uncertainty about future moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that another rate cut is not guaranteed, cautioning that the central bank is navigating complex economic signals, including inflation concerns and a challenging job market outlook.
Investors are closely monitoring earnings from major technology companies. Meta Platforms' shares fell in premarket trading after the company announced plans to significantly increase spending on AI development. In contrast, Alphabet reported record third-quarter revenue and a 33% increase in net profit, driven by strong cloud and digital advertising performance. Microsoft also reported robust earnings, attributed to demand for cloud and AI services, with plans to double its data center footprint over the next two years. Amazon and Apple are set to report their earnings later today.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell on Thursday amid ongoing oversupply concerns, with Brent futures dropping 0.6% to $63.95 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also down 0.6% to $60.14 a barrel. Both benchmarks are on track for declines exceeding 3% in October, marking their third consecutive month of losses. Traders are focusing on the upcoming OPEC+ meeting scheduled for November 2, where a potential supply increase may be announced.