At the close of the session, Microsoft and Google announced earnings with disparate results. Although none of them met analysts' forecasts for Q2, Google substantially improved its cloud and ads revenue. After the announcement, it shot up over 3%.
Wall Street's major indices have rebounded from mid-June lows as falling commodity prices and downbeat economic data prompted investors to pare back expectations of aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. However, recession fears have weakened momentum in the last three days.
In this sense, today's Fed meeting has special relevance. The central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points. With the evident slowdown in the economy that is reflected in the latest data, there is a possibility that the Fed will decide to be less aggressive with a hike of just 50 bps. Or on the other hand, President Powell could make fewer "hawkish" comments after today's meeting if the interest rate is raised as expected.