S&P 500 futures edge higher as oil climbs; investors await Fed rate decision

July 29, 2026

Breaking News

Image source: AI-generated with OpenAI

U.S. stock futures edged higher early Wednesday, as investors monitor rising oil prices and the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision, due later.

S&P 500 futures gained 0.18% as Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.11%, reversing earlier gains. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 35 points, and were last seen hovering just above the flatline.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced about 3.7% to trade at around $82 a barrel after U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched “multiple ballistic missiles in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East.” The missiles were successfully intercepted, Centcom said.

Investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and subsequent press conference with Chairman Kevin Warsh on Wednesday afternoon.

Fed funds futures traders are pricing in a nearly 70% likelihood that the central bank holds rates steady at the current target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. CNBC reports.

EdgeUp

💾 Chip Stocks Shed More Than $1 Trillion as Selloff Hits Companies Powering AI Boom

The world’s most valuable chip stocks have seen more than $1 trillion wiped from their market caps this week as investor jitters swept through the sector.

The selloff was led by Nvidia, which saw a $238 billion rout since market close on Friday. SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics and Micron — all key players in the memory space — lost $176 billion, $173 billion and $113 billion, respectively.

The chip sector has been one of the main beneficiaries of the AI boom, with investors piling into stocks as they looked to capitalize on the huge sums being funnelled into the sector. CNBC reports.

🚗 Ford Stock Rises as Automaker Hikes Full-Year Guidance, Beats on Q2 Earnings

Ford shares rose on Wednesday after the Big Three automaker reported second-quarter results that topped expectations, in addition to upbeat guidance driven by strong profit growth.

The financial update came as investors questioned whether Ford's management could follow rival General Motors in lifting its full-year outlook. Yahoo Finance reports.

🪙 Coinbase and Robinhood Are in a Heated Battle Rivalry—and This Week’s Q2 Earnings Will Show Who Has the Edge

When Robinhood and Coinbase went public back in the first half of 2021, the companies occupied very different lanes.

Today, the two founder-led firms are clashing on multiple fronts as Robinhood seeks to co-opt large portions of Coinbase's crypto empire, while the latter has rebranded itself as an "everything exchange" for stocks and more.

Both firms report second-quarter earnings this week, and their results are likely to reveal which has the upper hand. Yahoo Finance reports.

🧠 Exclusive-OpenAI's Rogue Agent Compromised a Customer at a Second Tech Firm, Executive Says

The rogue agent that escaped from OpenAI and went on a days-long hacking spree at the AI firm Hugging Face also compromised a customer at a second tech company — New York-based Modal Labs — according to a Modal executive and two other sources familiar with the matter.

Modal executives emphasized that the company itself was not hacked.

According to a timeline published by Hugging Face on Tuesday, the rogue agent broke into a sandbox, or an isolated testing environment, "hosted on a third-party provider's infrastructure" before turning it into a launchpad for the broader hack. Yahoo Finance reports.

🍎 Apple Touches $5 Trillion Market Cap for First Time

Apple on Tuesday briefly hit a market capitalization of $5 trillion for the first time, a day after passing Nvidia to become the most valuable publicly traded company.

Shares of the iPhone maker, which reports quarterly results on Thursday, have jumped 25% this year, outpacing its mega-cap peers. The stock reached a high of $342.89 on Tuesday before slipping a bit.

Shares closed at $340.08 on Tuesday, putting the market cap just below the $5 trillion threshold. CNBC reports.

👨‍🚀 SpaceX, Blue Origin Could Get Quicker Launch Approval Under FAA Move to Waive Environmental Rules

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was moving to waive what it called “unnecessary environmental laws and regulations” to speed up the approval process for commercial space rocket launches and reentries.

The proposed rule by the Federal Aviation Administration would be a boon for SpaceX and Blue Origin, as well as other rocket launch companies.

The FAA’s rule would allow the agency to waive requirements imposed on certain commercial space licenses and permits under 13 laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, parts of both the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. CNBC reports.

Top 5 Movers in Early Pre-Market

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM ET). Stock Analysis reports.

1) AMIX: Autonomix Medical, Inc.
Total gain: +68.36%

2) DFNS: T3 Defense Inc.
Total gain: +42.71%

3) GMM: Global Mofy AI Limited
Total gain: +35.63%

4) STFS: Star Fashion Culture Holdings Limited
Total gain: +34.99%

5) VRRM: Verra Mobility Corporation
Total gain: +24.64%

Yesterday’s Biggest Movers

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on July 28.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET) Stock Analysis reports.

1) STKH: Steakholder Foods Ltd.
Total gain: +166.67%
The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

2) EGG: Enigmatig Limited
Total gain: +85.85%
The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

3) DFNS: T3 Defense Inc.
Total gain: +83.21%
The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

Today’s Notable Earnings

(Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars)

KMTUY: Komatsu
Q1 2026
Before Market Open
Estimate: 0.590
Actual: 0.670

RIO: Rio Tinto
H1 2026
Before Market Open
Estimate: N/A
Actual: 4.210

FVRR: Fiverr International
Q2 2026
Before Market Open
Estimate: 0.470
Actual: 0.500

Today’s Economic Dates

Time (ET) / Report / Period

2:00 PM - U.S. interest rate decision - N/A

Parting Thoughts

“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”

– Frank Zappa

Sourced in: The Real Frank Zappa Book — GoodReads.

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