MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Nasdaq Futures Gain, But Others Wobble

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

FOMC meeting due later; Boeing to report

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Nasdaq looked poised for an upbeat session on Wednesday, with Apple Inc. set to do the heavy lifting in the wake of the iPhone maker's blowout earnings.

Other stock futures, however, pointed to a wobbly trading session as concerns about corporate earnings weighed on investors' minds.

Investors also are awaiting earnings from Boeing Co. and other companies as well as the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Leading the way higher, futures for the Nasdaq-100 (NDH5) surged 35 points, or 0.8%, to 4,212.50. Those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJH5) erased an earlier gain and slipped 24 points, or 0.1%, to 17,354, while futures for the S&P 500 index (SPH5) gained 2.40 points, or 0.1%, to 2,032.40.

Investors had a right to be wary, considering the carnage on Wall Street Tuesday. U.S. stocks saw the biggest drop in three weeks, hammered by disappointing earnings from economic bellwethers such as Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and a sharp fall in durable-goods orders. Among the losses, the S&P 500 index (SPX) fell 1.3%.

Apple and Fed: Apple was set to help turn sentiment around on Wednesday, at least for techs, after reporting another record for its flagship iPhone, with 74.5 million phones sold in the fiscal first quarter. Profit rose 38% to a record high and shares jumped 7.1% in premarket trade.

Check out a recap of Apple's conference call

Plus: Has Apple grown overly dependent on the iPhone?

The only economic event for Wednesday is the FOMC announcement, due at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The two-day meeting isn't expected to produce any major changes to the Fed's statement, and Goldman Sachs and others expect the first hike in short-term interest rates by September. But Ellen Zentner, economist at Morgan Stanley said Tuesday that she doesn't expect a Fed hike until March 2016, partly because the downward pressure on inflation is stronger than expected.

A strong dollar, which has been cutting into corporate earnings, and weak oil prices mean investors are hoping the Fed will delay that hike, and they will be looking for a signal from the statement.

Doubts grow about midyear rate hike, but Fed won't express any

Yahoo, Boeing in focus: Shares of Boeing (BA) could be active, with earnings expected ahead of the opening bell.

Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) leapt 7.6% ahead of the bell after the Internet search engine late Tuesday said it would spin off its Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) stake into a separate, publicly traded company.

U.S. Steel Corp. (X) jumped 9.6% premarket after the steel producer's earnings that were released on Tuesday topped Wall Street estimates.

Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) surged 29% in late trade on Tuesday after the medical device maker posted earnings that blew out Wall Street estimates.

On the downside, Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. could follow up a 13% late-session drop after weaker-than-expected results in its holiday quarter.

Overseas markets: Europe stocks were pushing lower, with Greece again leading the selloff after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stressed he will push for debt relief from the country's international creditors. The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (GREK) dropped 6.6% in premarket U.S. trade.

The Nikkei 225 index rose to a fresh one-month high as the yen weakened against the dollar and other currencies.

Crude-oil prices (CLH5) fell another 80 cents to $45.43 a barrel, as another investment bank downgraded its forecast for the commodity. Barclays cut its forecasts for WTI crude to $42 a barrel for 2015 from $66 and $57 a barrel for 2016. For Brent crude, Barclays cut its forecast to $44 a barrel for 2015 from $72 and forecast $60 for 2015.

Gold prices (GCG5) drifted lower ahead of the FOMC meeting.

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