S&P 500, Nasdaq Trading Higher Ahead Of Fed Announcement July 27

S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Industrials are trading higher Wednesday morning, following earnings reports from mega-caps Microsoft Inc MSFT and Alphabet Inc GOOGL, and ahead of today’s FOMC announcement and press conference.

After the close Tuesday, Microsoft reported earnings and missed on expected revenue and earnings per share. The stock only dipped about 3%, and then reversed an hour later during the earnings call on decent guidance. Similarly, Google missed on top-line earnings, but the online advertising space was actually stronger than expected, and the stock traded higher.

Fed Watch: Most of Wall Street today will be anxiously waiting for the FOMC announcement at 2pm ET. The expectation, according to the CME Watch Tool, is for the Fed to raise federal fund rates by another 75% to 2.25-2.5%. One bond analyst, David Rosenberg, thinks the Fed will shock investors and end its rate hike cycle today, “embracing data-dependency.”

Also Read: Bill Ackman Explains Why Inflation, Not Fed Rate Hike, Is Biggest Threat To US Economy

Natty Gas Goes: Energy has been the hottest sector of 2022; and the hottest industry within energy? That would be natural gas. Natty gas is on its way to its best month of all time, with the United States Natural Gas Fund UNG up more than 35% in the last month. The fund is up more than 2% heading into the open today, pointing to another strong day for the commodity.

Photo: Courtesy of RosieTulips on flickr