S&P 500 futures slipped on Wednesday as investors turned toward the first Federal Reserve interest rate decision of 2025. Futures tied to the 500-stock index shed 0.3%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures inched down 81 points, or 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures lost less than 0.1%. Tech stocks on Tuesday led the S&P 500 higher and brought the Nasdaq Composite to a 2% gain. The two indexes made a comeback after incurring sharp losses on Monday in a sell-off spurred by the emergence of China’s DeepSeek and the threat it poses to the artificial intelligence trade. Nvidia, which suffered a roughly 17% decline Monday, jumped nearly 9% on Tuesday. Shares of the chipmaker stock were last trading 2% lower on Wednesday morning. Investors waited to see if Nvidia’s comeback from Monday’s rout could continue after Tuesday’s gain, or if DeepSeek’s emergence has fundamentally impaired the overall AI trade. “As far as the DeepSeek news over the weekend, at the end of the day today, there really hasn’t been that much of an impact on a market-wide basis,” Bespoke Investment Group co-founder Paul Hickey said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” The Fed’s interest rate decision on Wednesday is now a focal point for investors, as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference. Fed funds futures data reflect a nearly 100% certainty that the central bank will keep rates steady at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%, according to CME Group data. “When it comes to the Fed, they’re widely not expected to do anything tomorrow and that’s a good thing. The less the Fed has to do, the better it is for the market, in our view,” Hickey added. Investors will be paying especially close attention to Powell’s comments — his first press conference in President Donald Trump’s second term. The two have had a contentious relationship dating back to Trump’s first term. The president has already said he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately.” A volley of Big Tech earnings are due Wednesday afternoon, with Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla issuing their quarterly reports. U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate decision of 2025. The 10-year Treasury yield declined by 4 basis points to 4.514%, while the 2-year Treasury yield was down by 2 basis points to 4.187%. Japan and Australian stocks rose Wednesday as Wall Street rebounded overnight, while several Asia-Pacific markets were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Japan benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the day up 1.02% at 39,414.78, while the Topix advanced 0.68% to close at 2,775.59. Japan’s central bank had hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.5% in its meeting last week. The move brings its policy level to its highest rate since 2008. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.57% to close at its highest since Dec. 5 at 8,447. Oil prices fell on Wednesday, following a rise in U.S. crude stockpiles and easing worries over Libyan supply, while focus turned to potential U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports. Brent crude futures were down 85 cents, or 1.1%, to $76.64 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures had lost 79 cents, or 1.1%, at $72.98. The White House said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump still plans to issue 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Saturday. “Crude prices keep dancing to the rhythm of Trump’s tariff orchestra, with Canada tariffs going into effect on Saturday potentially lifting U.S. prices then,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. Gold prices were steady on Wednesday as market participants were cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision due later in the day, while also pondering the implications of President Donald Trump’s trade policies. Spot gold eased 0.1% to $2,759.49 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were flat at $2,768.70. “Gold is faced with quite a lot of moving parts just now and hence prices are vacillating; we saw a short-covering rally on the initial threat of tariffs which took us close to all time highs, which prompted some profit-taking at the top,” independent analyst Ross Norman said. Last week, gold saw a 2.6% rise, closing in on its all-time-high levels recorded in October.