Wall Street closes mixed as the market awaits the Fed announcement.

U.S. stock averages displayed caution as they awaited Microsoft's quarterly results and the Federal Reserve's announcement the following day

Written by: Ignacio Teson • Wednesday, July 31, 2024 • 1 min read

Investors remained cautious ahead of Microsoft’s quarterly report, which disappointed the market and saw a sharp decline after the close.

The three major Wall Street indices closed mixed on Tuesday. U.S. stock averages displayed caution as they awaited Microsoft’s quarterly results and the Federal Reserve’s announcement the following day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, composed of 30 large companies, rose 0.50% to 40,743.33 points. Meanwhile, the S&P 500, comprising 500 stocks, fell 0.50% to 5,436.44 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.28% to 17,147.42 points.

The U.S. stock market, which opened the session with gains, reversed the indices’ movements due to doubts about the high prices of major tech stocks, such as Microsoft, which disappointed with its figures.

Although the company’s earnings and revenue slightly exceeded Wall Street estimates, its Azure cloud business underperformed, pushing Microsoft shares down 1.1% in after-hours trading.

Tomorrow, investors will focus on the results reported by Meta Platforms (-0.54%), Facebook’s parent company, following disappointments with the “Magnificent 7” during the earnings season. Alphabet (+0.45%) and Tesla (-4.05%) disappointed last week.

Additionally, investors are closely watching the Federal Reserve (Fed), which will announce its monetary policy decision tomorrow. While no changes in interest rates are expected, the statement is anticipated to pave the way for a rate cut in September.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Ignacio Teson

Economist and Financial Analyst

Ignacio Teson is an Economist and Financial Analyst. He has more than 7 years of experience in emerging markets. He worked as an analyst and market operator at brokerage firms in Argentina and Spain.