U.S. stock futures were largely flat on Wednesday, with investors focused on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks and quarterly guidance from semiconductor giant Micron. Powell highlighted the challenges of balancing stubborn inflation with slowing employment growth, while Micron reported stronger-than-expected demand for its memory chips from AI developers.
Futures show limited movement
By 03:38 ET, Dow and S&P 500 futures were largely unchanged, while Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 21 points, or 0.1%. Wall Street’s main indexes had dipped in the previous session, ending a three-day streak of record closes.
Shares of Nvidia, a favorite in the AI sector, slid slightly, putting pressure on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite after Monday’s gains tied to its $100 billion investment in OpenAI. Boeing shares rose following an $8 billion order from Uzbekistan Airways.
Powell signals caution
Powell’s comments came just days after the Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points and suggested that further reductions might follow. He stressed that the Fed faces no “risk-free” path, as it must weigh slowing job growth against persistent inflation.
“Fed Chair Jerome Powell broadly reiterated his cautious view yesterday, signalling there is some balance between downside employment risks and upside inflation risks. The result is still a more hawkish tone by the chair relative to the FOMC consensus, as expressed by the median Dot Plot,” analysts at ING noted.
Markets are pricing in the possibility of additional rate cuts at the Fed’s October and December meetings, although internal debate among policymakers is expected to be robust. Other Fed members voiced perspectives supporting both sides of the policy argument.
Micron posts upbeat AI-driven forecast
Micron (NASDAQ:MU) shares climbed in premarket trading following an encouraging quarterly report. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted that demand for DRAM and NAND products exceeded expectations, driven by AI workloads.
The company expects midpoint adjusted EPS for the current quarter of $3.75 on revenue of $12.5 billion, plus or minus $300 million, above analyst expectations of $3.10 per share and $11.91 billion in revenue. Mehrotra said supply is “tight,” while demand for DRAM should remain “healthy” in the coming year.
Micron also plans to invest $200 billion in U.S. semiconductor capacity, with $4.5 billion earmarked for the current quarter. Cloud memory sales tripled to $4.5 billion in the quarter ending August, pushing overall revenue up 46% to $11.32 billion, surpassing estimates.
Alibaba boosts AI initiatives
Shares of Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) in Hong Kong surged over 8% after unveiling its most advanced AI model, Qwen3-Max, with more than 1 trillion parameters. CEO Eddie Wu confirmed the company will continue investing in AI infrastructure, adding to the previously announced 380 billion yuan ($53.4 billion) commitment over three years.
The company also launched Qwen3-Omni, a multimodal system for immersive applications such as virtual reality and smart car cockpits, highlighting Alibaba’s push to expand AI beyond chatbots.
Gold remains near all-time highs
Gold prices held steady, staying near recent record levels as Powell’s comments heightened caution over inflation, growth, and interest rates. Expectations of additional Fed rate cuts have strengthened gold’s appeal, while geopolitical tensions have bolstered its safe-haven status.
Spot gold increased 0.3% to $3,775.56 per ounce, while gold futures slipped 0.2% to $3,807.92/oz by 03:29 ET.
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