Apple's fiscal third-quarter results are expected out Thursday afternoon, with investors focused on the company's ability to contend in AI and financially manage the evolving tariff landscape.

Wall Street ticked quietly higher ahead of the opening bell Wednesday as markets absorbed another spate of corporate earnings reports while waiting to see what the Federal Reserve will do with its benchmark interest rate.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped from record highs on Tuesday as a series of downbeat earnings weighed on the indexes, while investors looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day.