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U. S. stock futures traded close to unchanged on Wednesday as investors prepared for a pivotal session featuring the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision and quarterly earnings from artificial intelligence leaders Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Britain's antitrust regulator said it would investigate Microsoft over whether it ‌misled personal and family customers when marketing ‌subscription plans for its ever-popular Microsoft 365 product, resulting in ​them overpaying. The Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday the probe would examine Microsoft's addition of its AI assistant Copilot to Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Personal and ‌family customers were ⁠initially offered Copilot at no extra cost, but some later faced higher-priced subscriptions when ⁠renewing.

Options traders expect a roughly $190 billion swing in Microsoft's market value after it reports earnings on Wednesday, an unusually large move that underscores investors' growing eagerness to see if billions of dollars in ‌AI spending are beginning to pay off. By comparison, over the last 12 earnings cycles, Microsoft has averaged a 4.8% implied move and a 4.4% actual move, Option Research & Technology Services (ORATS) data ​showed. The significantly higher pricing this quarter suggests that investors view Microsoft — one of the hyperscalers whose massive AI capital spending is at the heart of this year's AI rally and the broader bull market — as central to the AI earnings story.

Tech giant Microsoft is set to report earnings today after the market close, and investors will be listening to hear whether the company expects to maintain the rapid growth at its cloud business, Azure. In its last quarterly earnings call, Microsoft said it expected roughly $190 billion in capex this calendar year, but the firm only spent about $30 billion in the first three months of the year. Microsoft shares closed up 1.1% yesterday, but they are 19% lower so far this year.

SK Hynix reported a record operating profit of 60.54 trillion won (about $41.66 billion) in the second quarter, up 557% from the a year earlier. Its operating margin was 76%, up from 41% a year earlier. Analyst expectations for operating profit were even higher, and the miss fueled investors' concerns that SK Hynix's rival Samsung is pricing its products more aggressively, Jefferies wrote.

By Niket Nishant and Ankur Banerjee July 29 (Reuters) - Global shares struggled to push higher on Wednesday, as modest gains in Europe and the U.S. did little to soothe investors spooked by a

Stocks were on track to open a touch higher Wednesday as investors shrugged off a rally in oil prices ahead of the Federal Reserve’s July interest-rate decision. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 41 points, or 0.1%. This could be a crucial day for the market, with the Fed set to announce its policy decision and mega-cap tech companies Meta and Microsoft due to report earnings after the closing bell.

Today Federal Reserve meeting: Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET, following the FOMC interest-rate decision at 2 p.m. Earnings (a.m): Procter & Gamble, Humana, L3Harris, Biogen, General Dynamics, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Airbus Earnings (p.

Sony is set to be a major beneficiary of the launch of "Grand Theft Auto VI" but the highly anticipated game is landing as the PlayStation maker grapples with rising prices of ‌memory chips. The Japanese entertainment conglomerate, widely seen as the winner of the high-end console wars as Microsoft's Xbox business ‌retrenches, has a long history with Take-Two Interactive Software, which will launch its delayed "GTA VI" on November 19. "GTA VI will be console only and the vast majority of ​new users will choose a PlayStation 5," said Serkan Toto, founder of Kantan Games consultancy.

Microsoft stock, down earlier this year, is up 5.5% in the past month. The answers to three AI-related questions could determine whether shares continue to gain.

Meta could deliver a record quarter for its core advertising business. But Wall Street will look past that for the latest on the company’s AI spending.

By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE, July 29 (Reuters) - Asian stocks sank on Wednesday, extending a vicious selloff as anxiety about AI valuations and whether the massive spending will deliver returns

As investors await Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) quarterly results, Gene Munster argues the company’s long-term AI strategy—not its near-term earnings—will determine whether it can maintain its market leadership. Munster Says Microsoft’s AI Transition Matters More Than Earnings Ahead of Microsoft’s earnings report on Wednesday, Deepwater Asset Management’s managing partner said that Wall Street is focused on the wrong metric, arguing that the software giant’s biggest challenges lie years ahead

Jensen Huang had never posted on X before July 24. His first post on the platform wasn't about chips or Nvidia's earnings or the next GPU architecture. It was a letter. An open letter signed by more than 20 tech companies, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, Google, OpenAI, Hugging Face, Mistral, ...

<body><p>STORY: Wall Street's main indexes closed mixed on Tuesday with the Dow gaining 1%, the S&P 500 edging up about two-tenths of a percent and the Nasdaq dipping by roughly two-tenths of a percent.</p><p>Markets have been volatile this month as investors worry that Microsoft, Amazon and other tech heavyweights may be overspending on data centers in the race to build out AI infrastructure.</p><p>But Nancy Tengler, CEO and chief investment officer of Laffer Tengler Investments, said to expect these companies to announce more AI spending when they report quarterly results this week.</p><p>"Make no mistake, we're in an AI arms race. I think you will continue to see spending. I think you'll actually see companies increase spending next year and then things will normalize and stabilize... We're focused on adding to the US names because you can't have a situation where companies are penalized for spending, i.e. the hyperscalers, and companies are penalized for being on the receiving end to the spending, Micron, chip names. At some point, this will come, regress to the mean and we'll start to pay attention to fundamentals."</p><p>Shares of Microsoft rose ahead of its report on Wednesday, while Amazon dipped before its results on Thursday.</p><p>Shares of Apple closed almost 1% higher, though they rose nearly 2% during the trading session and briefly exceeded a $5 trillion market valuation for the first time.&nbsp;The iPhone maker reports its results on Thursday.</p><p>Outside of technology, shares of Coca-Cola rallied 5% after the beverage company raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts.</p><p>:: Archive</p><p>And shares of Boeing jumped nearly 5% after the airplane maker generated positive free cash flow as its turnaround plans gained momentum.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is due to announce its interest-rate decision at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. Traders see about a 70% chance that the central bank will leave rates unchanged, according to CME's FedWatch tool.</p></body>

The veteran tech investor says Microsoft’s long-term valuation will depend less on quarterly results and more on how it adapts to AI-driven software and pricing changes.

Josh Lipton stock the market movers for Wednesday, July 29th, including the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. After the closing bell, Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META) report second quarter earnings, with investors watching closely for signs that their massive AI investments are beginning to pay off.

<body><p>STORY: :: Lisa Bernhard, Reuters</p><p>:: Nancy Tengler, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Laffer Tengler Investments</p><p>Global markets have been volatile this month as investors worry that Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and other tech heavyweights may be overspending on data centers as they race to build out AI infrastructure.</p><p>"I actually think they are right to spend," Tengler said. "Make no mistake, we're in an AI arms race. I think you will continue to see spending."</p><p>Speaking with Reuters' Lisa Bernhard, Tengler also discussed this week's Federal Reserve policy meeting, the second under new Chair Kevin Warsh.</p><p>And though markets are pricing in rate hikes before the end of the year, Tengler said she believes Warsh will "persuade his colleagues that raising [rates] would be perilous in this environment."</p></body>

Technology giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will be reporting earnings this Wednesday after market close. Here’s what investors should know.

Investors are practically begging AI’s big spenders to blink. Markets are making the option of pulling in the reins—or at least keeping capital spending steady—tantalizing. Google parent Alphabet’s stock fell almost 7% after it reported quarterly earnings last week that included a $10 billion hike in capital spending to around $200 billion this year.

Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Amazon report this week. Filings show AI capex already draining free cash flow.

(Bloomberg) -- The Nasdaq 100 Index is on track to enter a correction as worries about the eventual payoffs from artificial intelligence investments sour sentiment in the technology giants that have powered most of this year’s stock-market advance. Most Read from BloombergNvidia’s $750 Billion in Deals Reignite Circular AI FearsChip Rout Deepens on Circular Funding, China Competition FearsCitadel Securities Sees Warsh Delivering Surprise Fed HikeDeepSeek Suspends Fundraising After Viral US-China

Stock Market Today: The Dow Jones index rose, but tech futures dropped as chip stocks Micron and Sandisk dived. Coca-Cola jumped on earnings.

Meta will report its Q2 earnings after the bell on Wednesday.

Microsoft will report its Q4 earnings after the bell on Wednesday.

Investing.com -- Just one of five mega cap technology companies that reported earnings this quarter managed to outperform the S&P 500 the following day, which warns that the pattern is likely to persist as AI capital expenditure anxiety continues to overshadow otherwise solid results.

(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc. and BlackRock Inc. will establish a joint venture to build and operate a 1-gigawatt data center complex in Texas, adding to a wave of investment in the computing hubs that power artificial intelligence.Most Read from BloombergNvidia’s $750 Billion in Deals Reignite Circular AI FearsChip Rout Deepens on Circular Funding, China Competition FearsDeepSeek Suspends Fundraising After Viral US-China PostsS&P 500 Wobbles as AI Angst Offsets Oil Decline: Markets WrapCit

(Bloomberg) -- AI’s decimation of call center jobs has begun.Most Read from BloombergNvidia’s $750 Billion in Deals Reignite Circular AI FearsDeepSeek Suspends Fundraising After Viral US-China PostsS&P 500 Wobbles as AI Angst Offsets Oil Decline: Markets WrapCitadel Securities Sees Warsh Delivering Surprise Fed Rate HikeChip Rout Deepens on Circular Funding, China Competition FearsCompanies ranging from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Microsoft Corp. to Uber Technologies Inc. and Hyatt Ho

Wall Street’s forecasts for Big Tech require a major leap of faith: that the biggest AI hyperscalers can boost revenue much faster than the costs of running their businesses. Investors are already on edge about these companies’ soaring capital expenditures related to artificial intelligence. The bullish earnings narrative requires these companies to achieve newfound operating efficiency even as they spend trillions of dollars in capex over the next few years.

Meta’s data-center project priced a $12.5 billion offering with a higher interest rate than a similar deal last year, as AI companies flood the market with new debt.