Yahoo Finance·2025-10-28 10:11Corporate Earnings - The third-quarter corporate earnings season is underway, with major companies like Visa, UnitedHealth Group, Booking, UPS, and PayPal set to report [1] - S&P 500 companies are expected to see an average earnings increase of +7.2% for Q3 compared to the previous year, marking the smallest rise in two years [1] Federal Reserve Meeting - The Federal Reserve is expected to announce a 25 basis point rate cut, bringing the Fed funds rate to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, the lowest since late 2022 [2] - Investors are keenly awaiting Chair Jerome Powell's press conference for insights on future interest rate movements [2] Stock Market Performance - Wall Street's main stock indexes closed at record highs, with notable gains from Tesla (+4%) and Nvidia (+2%) [3] - Qualcomm surged over +11% after launching new chips for the AI data center market, while Avidity Biosciences soared more than +42% following an acquisition by Novartis valued at approximately $12 billion [3] Economic Data - The U.S. Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index is expected to decline to 93.4 in October from 94.2 in September [6] - The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index is forecasted to improve to -11 in October from -17 previously [7] Bond Market - The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is currently at 3.973%, down -0.58% [8] International Markets - The Euro Stoxx 50 Index is down -0.18% as investors react to corporate earnings reports, with German consumer sentiment expected to weaken [9] - Asian stock markets, including China's Shanghai Composite Index and Japan's Nikkei 225, closed lower amid profit-taking and geopolitical concerns [10][11][12] Pre-Market Movers - UPS rose over +9% in pre-market trading after reporting stronger-than-expected Q3 results and issuing above-consensus Q4 revenue guidance [13] - UnitedHealth Group increased more than +4% following better-than-expected Q3 results and an upward revision of its full-year adjusted EPS guidance [13]