Pre-Market: Fed Decision Looms as Vertiv Jumps, Boston Scientific Slides

Stock futures are pointing to a modestly higher open ahead of today's Federal Reserve interest rate decision, the single biggest event on the calendar. S&P 500 futures are up 0.24% and Nasdaq 100 futures are up 0.43%, while the VIX volatility index has eased to 17.44. WTI crude is up sharply at $101.86 a barrel, gold is roughly flat near $4,072 an ounce, and bitcoin is little changed at $80,795.

The biggest S&P 500 moves

Vertiv Holdings is the biggest gainer before the open, after the Financial Times and RTTNews both reported the company posted third-quarter net sales growth of 61% and raised its full-year 2026 guidance across key metrics. Flex is also higher; the company reported earnings of $1.18 per share versus a $1.06 estimate, though no source in our facts explains today's pre-market move. Masco, GE HealthCare and Amphenol are moving higher before the open, with GE HealthCare and Amphenol both having topped their EPS estimates this morning.

Boston Scientific is the largest decliner before the open. PR Newswire reported the company's third-quarter results alongside comments from CEO Mike Mahoney describing a challenging year that included a cybersecurity incident, while MarketWatch noted the stock had already fallen for three straight sessions into the print. CoStar Group is also lower; RTTNews reported the company swung to a third-quarter profit with revenue rising, but StreetInsider said shares still dropped as elevated operating expenses and customer-acquisition spending on its Homes.com portal pressured margin sentiment. NXP Semiconductors is down despite CNBC and Business Insider both reporting the company beat on revenue and earnings, with CNBC noting shares slid anyway in extended trading. Smurfit WestRock and F5 are also among today's biggest decliners before the open.

On the calendar today

The Goods Trade Balance for September has already been released, coming in at -134.9 versus an estimate of -130. Wholesale Inventories for September was also released this morning, though its result has not yet been published.

Still ahead today are the EIA's weekly Gasoline Stocks Change and Crude Oil Stocks Change reports, both due at 10:30 AM ET and covering the week ended October 23; gasoline stocks are estimated at -0.9 against a prior of -2.952, while crude stocks are estimated at 0 against a prior of -3.061. The main event is the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision at 2:00 PM ET, estimated to hold at 4%, matching the prior reading, followed by the FOMC statement and a press conference at 2:30 PM ET.

Of the 50 S&P 500 companies reporting earnings today, 25 have already reported. Among them, ADP, American Electric Power, Aon, Amphenol, Biogen, Boston Scientific, C.H. Robinson, Flex, Fortive, GE HealthCare, GE Vernova and Generac all topped their EPS estimates this morning. Companies still due to report include Align Technology, American Water Works, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Carvana, eBay, Everest Group, Equinix, Ford Motor Company, FedEx, Fortinet, Gen Digital, and both share classes of Alphabet, among others.

The latest graded results

In the latest graded recap, names screened before the open on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 were already graded at that day's close. SoFi led the group, up more than 12% before the open and adding further gains from the open to the close, while Johnson Controls and Galaxy also posted gains from open to close.