US STOCKS-Wall St eyes strong open on Microsoft's outlook; Fed decision looms
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* Microsoft (MSFT), Texas Instruments (TXN) climb on strong outlook
* All eyes on Fed's policy decision at
* Mattel (MAT) rises on winning back Disney Princess license from Hasbro (HAS)
* Futures up: Dow 1.15%, S&P 1.57%, Nasdaq 2.31% (Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By
Microsoft Corp (MSFT) gained 5.3% before the bell after estimating current-quarter revenue broadly ahead of market estimates, driven in part by its cloud business. Chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc rose 4.6% as it also gave a strong outlook.
The positive forecasts lifted tech-related stocks, with Meta Platforms (FB), Apple Inc (AAPL), Google-owner Alphabet Inc , Amazon.com, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA) rising between 2.1% and 4.4%.
The rate-sensitive tech and growth stocks have recently been
roiled by fears of aggressive Fed action to combat inflation.
Rising geopolitical tensions around
The Fed policy decision is due at
The announcement will be followed by Fed chairman
Fed funds futures traders are pricing in a 25 basis point hike in March, in addition to three more rate increases by the end of the year.
"If between the notes and Chairman Powell's press conference
today, we get some clarity around that path of interest rate
hikes that could certainly settle down the market and decrease
the volatility we're seeing," said
"When rates rise valuation becomes more important so earnings become more important to save the day. From a market perspective, earnings going forward are going to be better."
The fourth-quarter reporting season is in full stride. As of Tuesday, analysts expected S&P 500 earnings to grow 24.1% year-over-year, according to Refinitiv.
At
The S&P 500 index is now down nearly 9.2% from its record
closing peak on
Planemaker Boeing Co gained 2.2% after saying it generated positive cash flow in the fourth-quarter, its first positive cash quarter since early 2019.
Tesla Inc (TSLA) added 4.2% ahead of its quarterly results after market close, while AT&T Inc (T) rose 2.2% after it beat market estimates for quarterly revenue on strong wireless and streaming demand.
Barbie maker Mattel (MAT) jumped 7.6% on winning back
rights to make toys based on Disney Princesses from Hasbro Inc (HAS)
.
(Reporting by