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Cigna ( CI ) falls after missing Q4 profit estimates

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Lam Research ( LRCX ) rises on upbeat Q3 revenue forecast

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UPS down after lower-than-expected 2025 revenue forecast

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Futures: Dow down 0.06%, S&P 500 up 0.3%, Nasdaq up 0.54%

(Updates with results from Cigna ( CI ), Lam Research ( LRCX ), UPS)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Futures linked to the S&P and the

Nasdaq rose on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve paused

its rate-cutting cycle, driven by post-earnings gains in

megacaps including Meta and Tesla.

Meta Platforms ( META ) rose 0.9% in premarket trading after

beating estimates for fourth-quarter revenue, but forecast that

sales in the first quarter might miss estimates.

Tesla gained 2.1% after saying it was on track to

roll out new, cheaper EV models in the first half of 2025. The

company added it would start testing a paid autonomous car

service in June, overshadowing quarterly results that fell short

of expectations.

Meanwhile, Microsoft ( MSFT ) fell 4.1% after forecasting

disappointing growth in its cloud computing business.

Scores of people were feared dead after an American Airlines ( AAL )

regional passenger jet carrying 64 people collided with

a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the frigid

Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport. The

carrier's shares were down 2%.

Health insurer Cigna ( CI ) slid 8.8% after it forecast

annual profit below expectations and missed estimates for the

fourth quarter, while United Parcel Service ( UPS ) dropped

11.9% after forecasting 2025 revenue below expectations.

Lam Research ( LRCX ) rose 6.1% after the chip-making

equipment supplier forecast third-quarter revenue above

expectations, driven by a surge in orders from chip firms amid

the AI boom.

Chip-related companies Broadcom ( AVGO ) rose 5.1%, Applied

Materials ( AMAT ) gained 2.7%, Marvell Technology ( MRVL )

advanced 4.1%, and Micron Technology ( MU ) added 1.9%.

Apple ( AAPL ) and Intel ( INTC ) are scheduled to report

after markets close.

At 07:07 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 27 points,

or 0.06%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 18 points, or 0.3%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 116.5 points, or 0.54%.

The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on

Wednesday, removing language acknowledging easing inflation from

its latest policy meeting statement. Chair Jerome Powell said

there would be no rush to cut rates again until inflation and

jobs data made it appropriate.

"We think the length of the (Fed's) policy hold will be set

largely by how long tariff uncertainty persists," BNP Paribas

economists said.

"This could take a while, perhaps several months, as the

administration negotiates with trade partners and moves through

the administrative process to document and impose tariffs."

A fourth-quarter GDP reading is scheduled to be released

before markets open on Thursday, while December's personal

consumption expenditures price index data is expected on Friday.

Wall Street's main indexes closed lower on Wednesday but

were well shy of session lows and still below levels seen at the

end of the previous week as markets assessed Powell's comments.

Markets were rocked earlier this week by the meteoric rise

of Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI models, which posed stiff

competition to leading U.S. artificial-intelligence model

providers and sparked worries of a price war.

Among other early movers, IBM ( IBM ) jumped 8.2% after the

company surpassed fourth-quarter profit expectations. ServiceNow ( NOW )

lost 9.3% after the software firm forecast annual

subscription revenue below Wall Street estimates.