Futures for stocks in the U.S. advanced Wednesday morning after Microsoft earnings came in better than Wall Street expected.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 44 points, or 0.1%, at 33,695.
Futures for the S&P 500 poked up 3.5 points, or 0.1%, to 4,096.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite took on 92 points, or 0.7%, to 12,901.50.
The company known as “Mr. Softee” added more than 7% after beating Wall Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines in its latest quarter. The company also posted a big jump in revenue from its Intelligent Cloud business segment. Google-parent Alphabet also posted better-than-anticipated earnings, however the stock dipped slightly as revenue grew by just 3% year over year.
First Republic Bank said late Monday that its deposits dropped 40% to $104.5 billion in the first quarter. This reignited concerns about the broader banking sector and pressured the major averages Tuesday. The stock was down nearly 20% in pre-market trading Wednesday, with the potential to once again weigh on other financial names during the session.
Elsewhere, Boeing and Chipotle shares rose about 4% and 7%, respectively, on the back of their earnings reports. Investors will keep focus on tech with Meta Platforms slated to report after the bell. Mattel and eBay are also expected to report.
Beyond corporate financials, investors are monitoring durable goods and mortgage purchase data Wednesday morning. These come ahead of the latest GDP update coming Thursday and the big Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index — the Fed's favored inflation gauge — on Friday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 faded 0.7% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.7%.
Oil prices subsided 37 cents to $76.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices advanced $1.50 to $2,006 U.S. an ounce.