July 27 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday as better-than-feared quarterly reports from technology giants Microsoft and Latest News Alphabet calmed investors ahead of a key U.S. interest rate decision later in the day.
The results lifted sentiment after markets closed sharply lower on Tuesday on a profit warning from top U.S. retailer Walmart and World News weak consumer confidence data.
Microsoft Corp rose 3.8% in premarket trading on Wednesday after it forecast revenue would grow by double digits this fiscal year, driven by demand for Entertainment News cloud computing services.
Alphabet Inc added 3.5% as better-than-expected sales at Google search ads brought relief after social media firm Snap Inc’s warning last week raised fears of a sharp ad market slowdown.
“A positive reaction from the latest quarterly numbers has been incredibly hard-won given the negative market sentiment surrounding broader tech,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Shares of other high-growth stocks including Amazon.com Inc , Meta Platforms Inc and Apple Inc also got a boost ahead of their earnings this week.
Megacap growth stocks have been hammered this year as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates aggressively to tame decades-high inflation.