On Wednesday night, the S&P 500 futures increased as investors focused on factors beyond the recent interest rate hike and statements from the Federal Reserve. The futures linked to the broad index increased by 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 1% due to the impact of Meta shares. Meanwhile, the futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly declined by 9 points, almost unchanged.

Meta saw a significant surge of 19% in after-hours trading following its announcement of beating fourth-quarter revenue expectations and a $40 billion stock repurchase plan. This helped investors overlook losses in the division overseeing the metaverse. The company also provided guidance for Q1, suggesting a potential increase in revenue year-over-year.

The market saw a positive outcome for the three major indexes on Wednesday. The S&P 500 managed to overcome its losses and ended the day with a 1.05% increase, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 2%. On the other hand, the Dow had a small 0.02% gain after dropping over 500 points earlier in the day.

The Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday was closely monitored by investors, as a 0.25% interest rate hike was declared. This was a reduction from the 0.5% hike in December’s meeting, which instilled optimism among investors that the inflation rate is slowing down and the central bank is taking notice. However, the bank gave no indication of halting future rate hikes.

On Thursday, investors will keep an eye on earnings reports from well-known companies such as Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Ford, and Starbucks. They will also be on the lookout for the latest data on jobless claims, productivity, labor costs, and factory orders.