5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens

U.S. stock futures are pointing higher as investors await today’s Federal Reserve

interest-rate decision and comments from Chair Jerome Powell; Nvidia (NVDA) shares are slightly higher in premarket trading after falling yesterday when comments from CEO Jensen Huang failed to impress investors; Morgan Stanley (MS) reportedly is planning to reduce its workforce by about 2,000 positions; and Signet Jewelers (SIG) stock is soaring after it reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Here’s what investors need to know today.

U.S. stock futures are pointing higher ahead of today’s closely watched Federal Reserve interest-rate decision and remarks from Chair Jerome Powell. Nasdaq futures are up 0.4% after the tech-focused index shed 1.7% yesterday. Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures also are edging higher after the indexes posted losses Tuesday. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is more than 1% higher to trade at nearly $84,000, while gold futures also are advancing. The 10-year Treasury yield and oil futures are little changed.

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its influential federal funds rate at its current range of 4.25% to 4.5% when it concludes its meeting today at 2 p.m. ET. With inflation remaining higher than the target of 2%, Fed officials have said they were taking a “wait-and-see” approach to the economy given President Donald Trump’s sweeping new economic policies. Later, Fed Chair Powell is likely to offer fresh insight on the economy in his remarks, which could impact markets.

Nvidia (NVDA) stock is up 1% in premarket trading after investors reacted negatively to remarks from CEO Jensen Huang at the company’s GTC conference yesterday, with shares closing down nearly 3.5%. During a two-hour presentation, Huang provided updates about Nvidia’s Blackwell and next-generation Rubin chips, and announced a new partnership with General Motors (GM) to train AI manufacturing models. Early Wednesday, Microsoft (MSFT) and BlackRock (BLK) announced that Nvidia and xAI would be joining their renamed AI Infrastructure Partnership.

Morgan Stanley (MS) is planning to cut about 2,000 employees later this month, the first major workforce reduction under CEO Ted Pick, Bloomberg reported. The cuts will come from across the company of roughly 80,000 employees, though the firm’s team of about 15,000 financial advisers won’t be included in the layoffs, the report says. Morgan Stanley shares are up less than 1% in premarket trading.