Dow futures drop 200 points, Microsoft falls after earnings

Stock futures fell in early trading on Wednesday as traders pored through the latest batch of corporate earnings.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 226 points, or 0.7%. Nasdaq-100 futures shed 1.2%, and S&P 500 futures fell 0.8%.

Shares of Microsoft dropped 2%. Initially shares rose after the tech giant posted fiscal second quarter per-share earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates. However, shares declined after the company offered lackluster guidance on its earnings call.

Investors are bracing for more high-profile corporate earnings amid fears of a recession. So far, more than 70 S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter earnings, and 65% of them posted stronger-than-expected results, according to Refinitiv.

“With the bulk of earnings still in front of the market, the question as to whether the shift towards growth being signaled by recent rallies is warranted could be answered by upside earnings surprises and solid guidance,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.

Tesla, Boeing, IBM and AT&T are among the companies slated to post numbers on Wednesday.

The moves followed a three-day winning streak for the blue-chip Dow. All three major averages are up at least 1% week to date.