Fed day arrives as SK hynix lifts chips and Big Tech earnings loom
Five things to know before the open on Wednesday, October 28.
Good morning. The AI trade has another strong earnings report to work with, but the U.S. opening picture is mixed. The Fed's decision and results from Microsoft and Alphabet are still ahead, while higher oil prices add a separate risk. These are the five main stories before the open.
1. Futures split before the Fed's decision
Nasdaq-100 futures were higher early Wednesday, Dow futures were lower and S&P 500 contracts were modestly above the flatline. That is a premarket indication, not the result of the trading day. The split follows the overnight setup described in our First Light futures story.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its policy decision at 2 PM ET, with the chair's press conference at 2:30 PM. Markets widely expect rates to remain unchanged. The decision has not been announced, and the language about future policy is another part of the event to watch. A quiet morning move does not tell readers how markets will respond once that information arrives.
2. SK hynix's record quarter powers Seoul's chip rally
South Korea's Kospi closed 6.63% higher at 6,012.44. SK hynix gained 10.89% after reporting third-quarter revenue of 104.62 trillion won and operating profit of 83.33 trillion won, both quarterly records. Revenue rose about 328% from a year earlier and operating profit increased about 632%.
The company also outlined roughly 100 trillion won of shareholder returns for 2026, including earlier announced measures. It expects memory demand to exceed supply through 2030, a management forecast rather than a certainty. The results show the strength of the current AI-memory business; they do not remove the risks in forecasts about future demand. Our SK hynix and Kospi story separates the earnings figures from the return plans.
3. Microsoft and Alphabet face the after-close AI test
Microsoft and Alphabet are due to report after the market closes today. Their updates will give investors another look at demand for AI services and the capital spending behind them. Both are still scheduled reports, not earnings results available in this edition.
The question is broader than whether a company beats a quarterly estimate. Investors are looking for evidence that heavy infrastructure spending can support lasting revenue growth. The chip rally provides one part of that picture, while the cloud companies' spending and customer demand provide another. Neither side alone is a complete measure of the returns from the AI buildout.
4. UBS reports $2.7 billion profit as Europe trades softly
UBS reported third-quarter net profit of $2.69 billion and pretax profit of $3.59 billion. Pretax profit rose 27% from a year earlier. Those are different measures: the pretax comparison should not be read as a 27% increase in the final profit attributable to shareholders.
The results arrived during a mixed-to-lower European session, with the broad Stoxx 600 lower in early trading. That backdrop is separate from the strength in Asian chip shares. For readers comparing the headlines, company earnings and a regional index can move on different sets of information; one bank's result is not a summary of the whole European market.
5. Oil turns higher again
Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose Wednesday after falling Tuesday. Morning reports put Brent around $115 a barrel and WTI above $100, although the exact quotes differed with the time of the snapshot. These are intraday prices, not today's settlements.
The rebound keeps energy costs in view on a day dominated by technology earnings and monetary policy. It also shows why yesterday's lower oil close should not be treated as a lasting change in the outlook. Our Tuesday Dusk Ledger covers that earlier session; this morning's move is a new snapshot.
Today's calendar
The Fed decision at 2 PM ET and press conference at 2:30 PM are the main policy events. Microsoft and Alphabet report after the close. The market has not yet seen any of those outcomes. Our week-ahead preview has the broader schedule.
