U.S. stock futures floated just above the flatline on Wednesday, ahead of what is expected to be one of the busiest trading days so far this year.

By 06:58 ET (10:58 GMT), the Dow futures contract was mostly unchanged, S&P 500 futures had risen by 5 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had climbed by 92 points, or 0.3%.

Along with a bevy of corporate earnings, including results from a clutch of mega-cap tech companies, investors are also awaiting a key Federal Reserve interest rate decision and keeping tabs on recently-stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks.

“Markets are navigating a perfect storm of uncertainty — a Fed caught between stubborn inflation risks and a fragile geopolitical backdrop, Big Tech facing its moment of reckoning on AI spending, and OPEC cracking from within. The next 48 hours could set the tone for the weeks ahead,” Lukman Otunuga, Head of Market Research at FXTM, told Investing.com.

The main averages on Wall Street slipped in the prior session, weighed down largely by concerns over the financial state of OpenAI after The Wall Street Journal reported that the artificial intelligence stalwart had fallen short of certain revenue and user targets. Shares of firms who are either clients of or have invested in OpenAI faltered in the wake of the news.

Meanwhile, deadlocked negotiations between the U.S. and Iran bubbled in the background, clouding the prospect of an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed to shipping traffic for weeks. President Donald Trump has told his aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iranian ports, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Oil prices moved higher, sitting well above $100 a barrel, threatening to further darken the outlook for inflation and growth in countries around the world.

But, underlining what has become an emerging theme in markets, earnings have remained broadly resilient to headwinds from the Iran war. Just over a third of S&P 500 sectors have already posted profits, and 81% of firms have topped estimates.

Google-owner Alphabet, software player Microsoft, e-commerce titan Amazon and Instagram-parent Meta — all considered to be so-called AI “hyperscalers” — will step into the earnings season spotlight when they report after the closing bell on Wall Street.

Given the hit to tech shares from the WSJ’s downbeat OpenAI report, these returns could provide a crucial follow-up test for the health of the AI trade — a big bet that has partially contributed to wider stock markets shrugging off Iran-driven worries to notch fresh all-time peaks.

Fed decision looms

Meanwhile, the Fed is due to keep interest rates steady at a range of 3.5% to 3.75% at the end of its latest two-day gathering, as policymakers eye the inflationary effects of the Iran war.

According to the WSJ, the Fed could tweak the language of its forward guidance in a hawkish direction by removing the potential for rate cuts later in 2026.

The decision will also feature likely the last post-decision press conferences from current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term at the helm of the central bank is set to expire on May 15.

“Powell’s (supposedly) final press conference shouldn’t rock the boat, but he could err a bit on the hawkish side given the lack of progress in the Gulf,” analysts at ING said in a note.

Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Powell, with the Senate Banking Committee scheduled to vote on confirming the appointment this week.

Should he be confirmed to the role, Warsh would be positioned to take over as Fed chair before officials meet again in June.