Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 Futures Gain Ahead of Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision— SKHY, STX, V, GOOGL in Focus (UPDATED)

Editor’s Note: The ETFs tracking benchmark indices, lede, economic data, and the headline were updated in the story.

U.S. stocks were higher on Wednesday, as the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose, following Tuesday’s higher close.

The U.S. advance international trade deficit in goods widened to $134.9 billion in September 2026, marking a $2.8 billion increase from August. Alongside the trade data, advance estimates for September showed wholesale inventories rising 0.6% to $1,011.5 billion, while retail inventories increased 0.3% to $885.3 billion.

Investors will watch the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee’s interest rate decision and the monetary policy report later today, with the FOMC press conference scheduled at 2:30 p.m. ET. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in a 90.6% likelihood of interest rates being unchanged.

President Donald Trump said he plans to ban the term “artificial intelligence” from relevant government documents and urged the use of “super intelligence” instead, prompting Rep. Ted Lieu to argue that renaming the technology will not address oversight concerns.

The U.S. military has spent over $47 billion so far to prosecute the war in Iran, according to Pentagon data obtained by Reuters, compared with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s July estimate of $37.5 billion. Reuters also reported that more than $29 billion would go to replace expended munitions and more than $6 billion would be needed from Congress for equipment and platform losses.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 5.01%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.75%, at the last check.

Index	Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones	0.01%
S&P 500	0.22%
Nasdaq 100	0.42%
Russell 2000	0.05%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA), which track the S&P 500 index, Nasdaq 100 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average, respectively, were higher in premarket trading on Wednesday. The SPY was up 0.27% at $771.72, the QQQ advanced 0.43% to $724.38, and the DIA rose 0.052% to $523.55.

Stocks In Focus

Visa

• Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) was 1.63% lower in premarket trading on Wednesday after reporting fourth-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.48 per share on revenue of $12.14 billion, beating estimates.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that V maintains a positive price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value score.

UBS Group

• UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) was 2.54% lower in premarket trading on Wednesday after reporting third-quarter 2026 earnings of $0.85 per share on revenue of $13.35 billion, missing estimates.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that UBS maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a strong trend in the long term, with a good momentum score.

SK Hynix

• SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) was 7.55% higher in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company reported revenue of $78.23 billion and operating profit of $62.32 billion, an operating margin of 80%.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SKHY maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth score.

Seagate Technology Holdings

• Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) was 3.64% lower in premarket trading on Wednesday despite beating first-quarter 2027 estimates with earnings of $7.68 per share on revenue of $4.23 billion.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that STX maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a positive trend in the long term, with a good growth score.

Alphabet

• Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) was 1.18% higher in premarket trading on Wednesday as analysts expect third-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.02 per share on revenue of $128.18 billion after the closing bell.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GOOGL maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong quality score.

Cues From Last Session

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, led by information technology, consumer discretionary, and materials. Energy, consumer staples, and real estate lagged.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Dow Jones	0.03%	52,377.57
S&P 500	0.60%	7,722.60
Nasdaq Composite	1.18%	26,477.81
Russell 2000	1.16%	2,818.87

Insights From Analysts

Professor Jeremy J. Siegel, senior economist to WisdomTree and emeritus professor of finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, said last week featured an “extraordinarily sharp rotation out of growth and into value,” with the Russell Value Index and the S&P Value Index reaching all-time highs even as the Nasdaq sold off.

He tied the rotation to uncertainty about the scale and durability of the AI investment boom and said the 10-year Treasury yield moving back below 5% supported bonds and rate-sensitive value stocks.

Siegel wrote, “That is why I continue to view bonds and value stocks as natural hedges against the dominant AI trade,” and added, “The market is no longer trading as one giant AI momentum story.”

He also said this week’s Federal Reserve meeting should be “rather uneventful,” noting there is no Summary of Economic Projections or dot plot and he sees no change in policy.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Wednesday.

• Advance International Trade in Goods: The trade deficit grew to $134.9 billion in September, driven by $344.1 billion in imports against $209.2 billion in exports.
• Advance Wholesale Inventories: Adjusted for seasonal variations, wholesale inventories reached an estimated $1,011.5 billion, up 0.6% from August 2026 and 7.4% higher than September 2025.
• Advance Retail Inventories: Retail inventories were estimated at $885.3 billion for September, representing a 0.3% increase from the prior month and a 4.8% rise compared to September 2025.
• The Fed’s interest rate decision will be announced by 2:00 p.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 1.86% to hover around $101.76 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 1.56% to hover around $111.12 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.22% to hover around $4,053.51 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.01% higher at the 102.3784 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading at $81,410 per coin, up about 2.3% over the past 24 hours.

Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday, as Australia’s ASX 200 and India’s Nifty 50 indices fell. South Korea’s Kospi, China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices rose. European markets were lower in early trading.

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