US STOCKS-Wall St set to open lower with earnings underway, eyes on Fed

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* Boeing falls on record annual loss, to delay 777X jet
* Microsoft rises after upbeat quarterly results
* Big-tech earnings in focus later in the day
* Walgreens up as outgoing Starbucks executive named CEO
* Futures down: Dow 1.03%, S&P 1.12%, Nasdaq 0.84%

(Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal
Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes were set to open lower
on Wednesday as investors parsed through earnings reports from
companies including Boeing and Microsoft, ahead of the Federal
Reserve's policy statement later in the day.
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O gained 1.7% premarket, as the
software maker continues to benefit from remote working and
learning trends globally. Microsoft's results set a positive precedent for other
technology-related companies including Apple Inc AAPL.O , Tesla
Inc TSLA.O and Facebook Inc FB.O , which are set to report
quarterly numbers later in the day.
Tech companies have recently come back into favor after
blowout results from streaming service provider Netflix Inc
NFLX.O , and as investors dumped economy-linked banks, energy
and small-cap stocks.
However, concerns about heightened stock market valuations,
raging coronavirus cases and any potential disruption to vaccine
rollouts have spooked investors about a pullback and increase in
volatility in the near-term.
"The market is kind of in a wait-and-see mode. Investors
just want to gather more information from the earnings season,
they want more confidence from the Fed, and we should get a big
insight into that today," said Craig Erlam, senior market
analyst at OANDA.
The Fed is expected to keep monetary policy locked in
crisis-fighting mode at its meeting ending on Wednesday, with
investors also looking forward to relief from ongoing
vaccinations and new government spending plans. There is a high risk of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections
derailing the world economy this year, according to a majority
of economists in a Reuters poll, who forecast global GDP would
reach pre-pandemic levels within two years. "We are going through what is likely to be the absolute
worst moment of this entire pandemic right now," Erlam said.
Meanwhile, Boeing Co BA.N fell 3.3% after posting a record
$12 billion annual loss, as it delayed its all-new 777X jet
again and booked a $6.5 billion charge for the program.
At 8:33 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 319 points,
or 1.03%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 43 points, or 1.12%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 113.25 points, or
0.84%.
Starbucks Corp SBUX.O fell 2.7% after the coffee chain
reported a larger-than-expected fall in quarterly sales, as the
renewed surge in coronavirus cases in the United States kept
customers at home. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O jumped 4.3% after the
drugstore chain named the outgoing chief operating officer of
Starbucks, Roz Brewer, as its chief executive officer.
Videogame retailer GameStop Corp's GME.N shares surged
another 41.9% on Wednesday, as amateur investors continued to
pile into the stock that has skyrocketed nearly 700% over the
past two weeks.