Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures stall with Fed and Google breakup in focus

U.S. stock futures were flat on Wednesday as the risk of a Google breakup paused for thought pending further Federal Reserve clues about the possibility of a “soft landing.”

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), the S&P 500 (ES=F), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) settled below the flat line, paring earlier premarket losses.

Stocks have been whipsawed this week amid intense debate over the state of the economy now that the Fed has finally relaxed policy. The decision to cut a jumbo 50 basis points has raised concerns that it may not see market risk. This has investors thinking about a “no landing” where the economy continues to grow and the risk of inflation re-emerges.

Minutes from the Fed's September meeting, later Wednesday, will be scoured for clues – especially why a policymaker disagreed on the shape of the cut.

Read more: What Fed Rate Cuts Mean for Bank Accounts, CDs, Loans and Credit Cards

Meanwhile, investors are absorbing news that the DOJ has asked a judge to force Google to sell core businesses to remedy its monopoly position. Shares of owner Alphabet ( GOOG ) slipped in premarket trading, after gains on a broader technology rebound that fueled Tuesday's solid gains.

Elsewhere in tech, Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC's ( TSM ) quarterly sales beat Wall Street estimates, in a sign of healthy AI demand. Shares of TSMC rose slightly, while its customer Nvidia's ( NVDA ) stock rose more than 1%, based on the gain.