US STOCKS-Positive earnings updates set Wall St for higher open; Fed in focus

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* General Motors up after smaller-than-expected loss
* Starbucks sees business 'steadily recovering', shares up
* Boeing shares rise after results
* Advanced Micro Devices surges after revenue forecast raise
* Futures up: Dow 0.23%, S&P 0.35%, Nasdaq 0.67%

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By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to
open higher on Wednesday as a slew of positive earnings updates
and hopes for a dovish tone from the Federal Reserve
overshadowed concerns about next steps for the government's
coronavirus support plan.
General Motors Co GM.N rose 4.6% premarket after posting a
smaller-than-expected loss for the second quarter, helped by
pickup truck sales and aggressive cost-cutting. Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.O jumped 11% after the
chipmaker raised its full-year revenue forecast, driven in part
by an overall surge in chip demand and market-share gains from
larger rival Intel Corp INTC.O . Of the 163 S&P 500 firms that have reported results, 79.1%
have surpassed a low bar of quarterly profit expectations,
according to Refinitiv IBES data, well above the average of 59%
of companies beating profit estimates over the past four
quarters.
Recent data pointed to a possible slowdown in business and
hiring as infections spiked in southern and western U.S. states,
and deaths from the novel coronavirus approached 150,000 in the
country on Wednesday. Investors will keep a close watch on how the U.S. central
bank addresses these economic risks at the end of its two-day
meeting on Wednesday.
No major policy decisions are expected in the Fed's
statement at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), which will be followed by
Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.
Emergency monetary stimulus measures along with trillions of
dollars in fiscal support have been pivotal in driving a sharp
recovery in the U.S. stock markets since March.
"The biggest catalyst within the market right now — for at
least the bullish sentiment — is where's the next wave of
liquidity," said Andrew Smith, chief investment strategist,
Delos Capital Advisors, based in Dallas.
Republicans in the U.S. Congress, White House and Democrats
still struggled to find a deal on the $1 trillion coronavirus
aid package, as the expiry of a $600-per-week enhanced
coronavirus unemployment benefit loomed. At 8:24 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 61 points, or
0.23%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 11.25 points, or 0.35%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 70.25 points, or 0.67%.
Boeing Co BA.N said it would cut production on its marquee
787 and 777 jet programs and reported a bigger-than-expected
quarterly loss due to the fallout from the pandemic. The
company's shares rose 1.3% after results. Industrial conglomerate General Electric Co GE.N rose 2.3%
after reporting smaller-than-expected cash outflows in its
industrial business. Starbucks Corp SBUX.O climbed 5.2% after the coffee chain
said business was "steadily recovering" worldwide and it would
return to profitability in the current quarter. The chief executives of Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Facebook
Inc FB.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and Alphabet's Google GOOGL.O
are set to face a congressional hearing on antitrust on
Wednesday, marking their first time appearing before lawmakers
together. All four companies are set to report results on Thursday.