Key Highlights

● Mastercard, Merck and Caterpillar all report before the open.

● GDP and PCE inflation data arrive the same morning.

● Mastercard offers a read on consumer spending.

● Caterpillar is watched for data-center power equipment demand.

One of the busiest mornings of earnings season arrives, with Mastercard, Merck and Caterpillar all reporting before the opening bell, alongside third-quarter GDP and September PCE inflation data. Together, the three companies offer a cross-section of the economy: consumer spending, health care and industrial and infrastructure demand.

Mastercard, the global payments network, earns fees on the volume of transactions processed across its network, making it a real-time gauge of consumer and business spending, arriving amid mixed signals on the US consumer.

Merck and Health Care

Merck, one of the world's largest drugmakers, reports as health care has been among the sectors that rose, with Genmab soaring on positive Phase 3 data for a cancer treatment tested in combination with Merck's own immunotherapy, and GE HealthCare and Labcorp climbing on raised forecasts.

Caterpillar, also a major industrial name, makes construction and mining equipment as well as power generation systems, a business that has drawn attention as AI data centers seek reliable on-site power.

The Macro Backdrop

The three reports land on a pivotal morning, with growth tracking models pointing to a strong quarter and the PCE report serving as the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, with a hot reading potentially reinforcing expectations of another rate hike.

Wednesday's session ended with modest gains, and after the bell, Microsoft rose while Alphabet slid sharply, with overnight futures pointing to pressure on tech stocks heading into the new session.