Investing.com - U.S. stock futures turned lower on Thursday as markets assessed a cautious tone from the Federal Reserve in the central bank’s latest interest rate decision. The Fed signaled that it will stick to a wait-and-see approach to further policy moves, as uncertainty around the effects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs clouds the wider economic outlook. Meanwhile, quarterly earnings from a range of companies, including FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and Nike (NYSE:NKE), are due out, and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang tells the Financial Times that the semiconductor titan will shell out hundreds of billions of dollars on U.S.-made chips over the next four years.
1. Fed decision
The Federal Reserve chose to leave interest rates unchanged as expected at its latest policy meeting, noting that it will take a cautious approach to future decisions due to uncertainty around President Trump’s tariff plans.
The comments reiterated a wait-and-see attitude the central bank adopted earlier this year as policymakers fret about the potential impact of the levies on inflation and the broader economy.
The Fed slashed its 2025 growth projection and flagged that the tariff turmoil was starting to increase wider uncertainty.
“Inflation has started to move up,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, warning that “there may be a delay in further progress over the course of this year.”
Still, the Fed chose not to price in a prolonged surge in prices or a slowdown in growth. Powell also stressed that the outcome of Trump’s tariffs remains murky, suggesting that officials will likely move to calibrate monetary policy based on the impact of the trade tensions.
2. Futures lower
U.S. stock futures pointed lower on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, with markets gauging the Fed’s cautious policy stance.
By 06:38 ET (10:38 GMT), the Dow futures contract had decreased by 257 points or 0.6%, S&P 500 futures had fallen by 42 points or 0.7%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had ticked down by 167 points or 0.8%.
The main averages rose in the prior session, as traders lifted their bets for Fed interest rate cuts this year. Investors are now pricing in 68 basis points worth of reductions, up from 56 basis points — or about two quarter-point drawdowns — ahead of the Fed’s announcement.
The Fed also moved to slow down the pace of a drive to shrink the size of its balance sheet, which analysts interpreted as a sign that the central bank is keen to maintain market stability.
However, stocks have yet to claw back recent losses that were sparked by Trump’s tariff threats. The S&P 500 has shed 8% over the past month, and has erased all the gains it notched shortly after Trump was elected to a second term in the White House in November. The spreads between corporate and Treasury bond yields has widened as well, in an indication of the concerns markets have around the tariffs.
3. FedEx, Micron, Nike earnings ahead
On the earnings calendar, investors will have the chance to parse through quarterly results from a range of companies, including logistics group FedEx, chipmaker Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and shoe seller Nike.
For FedEx, investors will be on the lookout for any commentary around the state of the U.S. and how it could hit revenue, analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note to clients.”
Micron, meanwhile, could provide a fresh glimpse into demand for its artificial intelligence data center chips, although concerns have swirled around its processors for consumer-centric products like personal computers and smartphones.
Fears over a tariff-driven downturn in consumer sentiment and rising inflation expectations have threatened sentiment around Nike, while the sportswear retailer is seen posting its steepest quarterly drop in revenue in almost five years, according to industry data cited by Reuters.
4. Nvidia CEO speaks on U.S. spending plans
Nvidia will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on U.S.-made chips and electronics components over the next four years, CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Huang said Nvidia will procure “probably half a trillion dollars worth of electronics in total” over the next four years, and that the company sees itself manufacturing “several hundred billion of it here in the U.S."
Huang told the FT that Nvidia was now able to manufacture its latest systems through U.S. suppliers such as TSMC (NYSE:TSM) and Foxconn (SS:601138), and that he saw a growing competitive threat from Chinese electronics giant Huawei.
His comments mirror commitments from several other major tech CEOs to spend more money in the United States. Earlier in March, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had vowed to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to bolster its U.S. operations.
5. Gold touches record high
Gold prices rose to record highs on Thursday, benefiting from a softer dollar after the Fed signaled at least two more interest rate cuts this year.
The yellow metal extended a run of recent gains, as it continued to receive a boost from heightened safe haven demand due to the collapse of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, roller-coaster Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations, and increased uncertainty over the U.S. economy under Trump.
Spot gold had moved down by 0.7% to $3,026.18 an ounce by 06:40 ET, after it touched an all-time peak of $3,057.21 an ounce earlier in the session.
Elsewhere, oil prices edged higher, extending a recent rebound on signs of strong demand in the U.S., the world’s biggest fuel consumer. Bitcoin also advanced.