06:59 AM EDT, 05/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The main US stock measures were pointing lower in premarket activity Wednesday as investors await more corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve's policy decision on interest rates later in the day.

Standard & Poor's 500 futures declined 0.5%, the Nasdaq was off 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.3% before the open. Asian exchanges were mixed to lower while European bourses were trending downwards, although many were closed for holiday.

The Fed is due to announce its rate decision at 2 pm ET, with Chair Jerome Powell to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm. There is a 98% probability the central bank will not cut its key rate, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Also on Wednesday's economic calendar, the weekly mortgage applications bulletin is out at 7 am, followed by the ADP Employment Report for last month at 8:15 am. The April purchasing managers' index for manufacturing from S&P Global posts at 9:45 am, along with the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for the same month at 10 am.

The construction spending report and the jobs openings and labor turnover survey, both for March, are also scheduled for a 10 am release. The weekly domestic petroleum inventories report is due at 10:30 am.

Amazon.com's (AMZN) shares rose 2% pre-bell after the e-commerce giant reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fell 6.3% as its fiscal first-quarter results narrowly topped market estimates. Starbucks (SBUX) dropped 13% after the coffee giant slashed its fiscal 2024 outlook on the back of a weaker-than-anticipated second quarter.

Mastercard (MA), Pfizer (PFE), CVS Health (CVS), KKR (KKR), Marriott International (MAR), Estee Lauder (EL), Kraft Heinz (KHC), Yum! Brands (YUM), Global Payments (GPN) and DuPont de Nemours (DD) report their latest quarterly results before the bell, among others. Qualcomm (QCOM) and DoorDash (DASH) are some of the major companies posting results after the markets close.

Before the opening bell, bitcoin sunk 3.9% to $57,463, West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1.3% to $80.83 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries inched 0.6 basis points higher to 4.69% and gold edged down 0.1% to $2,301 an ounce.