Investing.com– U.S. stock index futures tread water in evening deals on Wednesday following a negative session on Wall Street amid persistent concerns over higher-for-longer interest rates.
A mixed batch of first-quarter earnings also kept traders on edge, ahead of more key reports- particularly from the technology sector- due this week.
But Wall Street was reeling from an extended rout in the technology sector, with chipmakers seeing heavy selling on Wednesday following disappointing earnings from industry majors.
steadied at 5,064.75 points, while rose 0.1% to 17,682.75 points by 19:40 ET (23:40 GMT). steadied at 5,022.21 points.
Wall St battered by chipmaker rout as ASML earnings disappoint
Wall Street indexes fell for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, hit by steep losses in chipmaking stocks following weaker-than-expected earnings from Dutch semiconductor technology giant ASML Holding NV (AS:). ASML’s U.S. shares (NASDAQ:) slid 7% during the session.
Market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) slid nearly 4% during the session, but rose about 0.5% in aftermarket trade. Smaller peer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:) lost 5.8% and was up 0.2% after-hours.
ASML acts as somewhat of a bellwether for chip demand, given that it manufactures advanced lithographic equipment used in making semiconductors.
Broader markets were pressured by a spike in Treasury yields, following signs of sticky U.S. inflation and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve.
The fell 0.6% to 5,022.21 points on Wednesday, while the lagged its peers with a 1.2% decline to 15,683.37 points. The ended down 0.1% at 37,753.31 points.
Netflix, TSMC earnings on tap
Focus was now squarely on upcoming earnings reports. For the chip sector, earnings from TSMC (TW:) (NYSE:)- the world’s largest contract chipmaker- were due during the Asian session on Thursday.
TSMC is largely regarded as a bellwether for global chip demand, and is expected to clock stronger earnings on the back of increasing demand artificial intelligence-linked chips.
Video streaming giant Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:) is also set to report first-quarter earnings on Thursday, as is asset manager Blackstone Inc (NYSE:).
Aftermarket movers: Micron, Alcoa rise, Equifax tumbles
Among major aftermarket movers, aluminum producer Alcoa Corp (NYSE:) rose nearly 3% after its earnings topped estimates, and it flagged steady production in 2024.
Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:) was an outlier among chipmaking stocks, rising over 2% in aftermarket trade following reports that the memory chip maker was set to receive over $6 billion in government grants. The stock had fallen 4.5% during the session.
Equifax Inc (NYSE:) plummeted nearly 10% after posting weaker-than-expected guidance.
Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:) fell 3% despite beating profit expectations, as underperformance in its Macau operations remained a point of concern.
