Nasdaq futures inched higher on Wednesday as chip sector stocks gained after quarterly orders for semiconductor equipment maker ASML exceeded expectations, while investors awaited the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision later in the day.

The stock markets are bracing for a volatile day as losses in tech giants Apple and Nvidia might prevent broader gains. The focus shifts to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision. Meanwhile,

(Reuters) - Futures tied to the Nasdaq gained on Wednesday as semiconductor-related stocks rose after chip equipment maker ASML's quarterly orders topped estimates, with focus also on a raft of company results and the Federal Reserve's rate verdict later in the day.

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US stocks fall after the Fed held rates steady but suggested the inflation drop has stalled. Meta, Tesla and Microsoft report earnings after the bell.

The semiconductor company's share price was down 7% as of 3:45 p.m. ET amid the backdrop of a 1.8% decline for the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and a 3.5% decline for the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC).

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell sharply, mainly due to a sell-off in Nvidia and other chipmakers. This comes amid the rise of a free AI assistant from Chinese startup DeepSeek, raising concerns about U.S.

On the economic data front, investors will focus on U.S. Wholesale Inventories data, which is set to be released in a couple of hours. Economists expect the preliminary December figure to be +0.2% m/m, compared to -0.2% m/m in November.

U.S. equities were higher at midday Friday as positive reports on inflation raised investor optimism for more Federal Reserve rate cuts ahead.

Affordable, DeepSeek in China competes with AI models from US tech giants Meta (META, Financial) and OpenAI while offering the same performance. Investors were becoming concerned about traditional AI development spending by The Magnificent 7 when they were told DeepSeek was joining the AI market.

Chip stocks in the U.S. and Europe rose on Wednesday for a second straight day, recovering from a punishing selloff triggered by China's low-cost DeepSeek artificial intelligence tool at the start of the week.