United States stock futures traded in a mixed fashion on Wednesday night (Thursday AEDT), following a rally earlier in the session after the Federal Reserve delivered another interest rate cut.
By 10:45 am AEDT (11:45 pm GMT), Dow futures ticked up 0.1%, S&P 500 futures eased 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.3%.
In extended trade, Oracle shed 11.3% after publishing mixed results against elevated expectations. The company reported Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.26, beating estimates of $1.64, while revenue reached $16.1 billion compared with the consensus forecast of $16.19 billion.
Adobe slipped 0.7% despite results topping expectations. The company posted record Q4 revenue of $6.19 billion, representing 10% year-over-year growth, while non-GAAP EPS came in at $5.50.
Synopsys gained 2.7% after issuing stronger-than-anticipated quarterly results. It reported Q4 EPS of $2.90 versus $2.78 expected, while revenue of $2.26 billion came in slightly ahead of expectations.
Stocks rose during the regular session after a divided Federal Reserve cut rates for the third time this year and ruled out any prospect of a rate increase.
The Federal Open Market Committee lowered the key overnight borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 3.5%-3.75%, while signalling a slower pace of easing ahead.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is “well positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves”, noting that President Donald Trump’s tariffs have contributed to upward pressure on inflation.
Despite the rally, some investors remain cautious, noting that the Fed appears to be firmly in wait-and-see mode as it assesses the economic outlook and the timing of future policy moves.
