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U.S. futures edged higher early Thursday after the Federal Reserve signaled that interest rates could fall as inflation eases. The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a range of 5.25% to 5.50%, suggesting that interest rates may have peaked and trend downward in the coming months. Nasdaq 100 futures (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up approximately 0.42%, 0.22%, and 0.04%, respectively, as of 3:05 a.m. ET on February 1st.
After-hours activities include medical device company Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) shares rose 12% after the company announced fourth-quarter profits that beat expectations. On the other hand, shares of railway operator Norfolk Southern (New York Stock Exchange:NSC) soared 5.4% as big investors piled into the company.
Paying attention to important financial results announcements, technology giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Meta Platform (Nasdaq:Meta) releases quarterly financial numbers. Analyst consensus ratings reflect Wall Street favoring AMZN and META over AAPL ahead of upcoming earnings.
On the other hand, at the time of writing this article, crude oil prices were on an upward trend due to expectations for future interest rate cuts. WTI crude oil futures are rising and were hovering around $76.01 per barrel at last check.
Elsewhere, European indexes are expected to open lower as investors await the Bank of England’s latest monetary policy decision and the euro zone’s January inflation data.
Asia-Pacific markets remain mixed today
Asia-Pacific indexes were mixed on Thursday, with private surveys showing manufacturing activity is recovering in the Asia-Pacific region excluding China.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended 0.49% higher. Meanwhile, China’s Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.34% and the Shanghai Composite Index ended down 0.64%.
Japan’s Nikkei average and TOPIX ended down 0.76% and 0.67%, respectively.
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