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Futures up: Dow 0.1%, S&P 500 0.3%, Nasdaq up 0.4%

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Nvidia ( NVDA ) on track for $5 trillion market value

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Alphabet, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta report results after markets

close

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Fed's monetary policy decision due later in the day

(Updates prices)

By Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit

Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures ticked

higher on Wednesday, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) on track to become the first

company to surpass $5 trillion in market value, while investors

awaited the Federal Reserve's rate decision and results from Big

Tech firms.

Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 3.7% in premarket trading

after CEO Jensen Huang announced $500 billion in AI chip orders

and plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. government.

The stock has risen about 50% so far this year, and has been

among the top boosts to U.S. equities in 2025. Apple ( AAPL )

briefly topped $4 trillion in market cap on Tuesday, while

Microsoft ( MSFT ) trades above that level.

At 07:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 61 points, or

0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17.5 points, or 0.25%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 110.5 points, or 0.42%.

The three major indexes have hit a series of record highs in

recent days, driven by optimism around artificial intelligence,

positive earnings momentum and expectations of rate cuts from

the U.S. central bank.

Alphabet and Microsoft ( MSFT ) rose 0.3% each,

while Meta was marginally up. The companies are set to

report their quarterly results after markets close and investors

will closely scrutinize any AI-related updates to justify lofty

valuations.

"The commentary provided by executives will critically frame

how far and how confidently the market can chase the AI story

into 2026," said Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.

Caterpillar ( CAT ) shares rose 4.3% after beating

third-quarter profit expectations.

With results in from 180 of the S&P 500 companies,

third-quarter earnings are estimated to have increased 10.5%

from the year-ago period, above earlier estimates for the

quarter, according to data compiled by LSEG as of Tuesday.

FED OUTLOOK, TRADE DEALS EYED

The Fed is widely expected to trim rates by a quarter of a

percentage point later in the day.

After nearly a month of a U.S. government shutdown that has

kept key economic data under wraps, investors will hunt for

clues on the Fed's rate path after leaning on private surveys

and corporate announcements to fill the void.

Investors will also keep an eye on any plans to end the

central bank's "quantitative tightening" policy - a long-running

effort to shrink its balance sheet.

Traders expect another quarter-point cut in December.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump began the final leg

of his Asia trip, saying he had reached a deal with South Korea

and was optimistic about an agreement with China's Xi Jinping.

Talks between the two counterparts are set for Thursday in the

port city of Busan.

Among other stock moves, Centene Corporation ( CNC ) posted

a surprise third-quarter profit, sending shares jumping 9.7%.

Seagate Technology ( STX ) shares rose 6.5% after the

company forecast second-quarter earnings above Wall Street

estimates.

Teradyne ( TER ) jumped 21.9% after forecasting

fourth-quarter revenue above expectations and named a new chief

financial officer.

Mondelez International ( MDLZ ) cut its annual profit

forecast on Tuesday, sending the Cadbury maker's shares down

5.7%.