US STOCKS-Nasdaq futures jump 2% after Microsoft's strong forecast; Fed decision looms

Susan Mathew
·1 min read

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

* Futures: Dow up 0.8%, S&P climbs 1%, Nasdaq rises 2%

By Susan Mathew

Jan 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday, with a surge in Microsoft lifting Nasdaq 100 futures, while investors keenly awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later in the day.

The move comes after two days of wild swings, driven by uncertainty about the Fed's next move and rising worries about geopolitcal tensions around Russia and Ukraine.

At the close of its two-day meeting, the U.S. central bank is likely to signal the start of an interest rate hike cycle beginning March in an attempt to fight a surge in inflation.

The Fed decision is due at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) followed by Fed chairman Jerome Powell's news conference, which will be parsed for clues on the magnitude and pace of hikes for the year.

Microsoft Corp jumped 3.2% in premarket trading as the tech giant forecast revenue for the current quarter broadly ahead of Wall Street targets.

Futures tied to Nasdaq 100 jumped 2%. S&P 500 futures were up 1.1%, while Dow Jones futures climbed 0.8%. (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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