Fed Hold, Alphabet and ServiceNow After Hours | October 28 After Close
The Federal Reserve held its target range at 3.75%–4.00% on October 28 by a 10–2 vote. SPY, QQQ and IWM finished the completed U.S. regular session modestly higher. Alphabet and ServiceNow reported after the bell, and separately observed after-hours prints were sharply below their regular-session closes. Those prints can change before the next open and are not October 28 closing candles.
The Fed and the completed ETF closes
The Federal Reserve statement described strong economic activity and elevated inflation. Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack preferred a quarter-point increase. Full-session ETF returns include trading before the decision; these closes do not isolate its effect.
SPY closed at $772.31, up 0.34%. It held above its independently calculated 50-day average of $767.63 and 200-day average of $728.15. October 6's $781.62 intraday high remains overhead. Share volume of 28.83 million was below the prior 20-session average of 39.63 million. A daily retest and close above the 50-day would strengthen the near-term reading; a close beneath it would weaken it.
QQQ closed at $725.61, up 0.60%, just over its 50-day average of $725.42. The October 27 intraday low of $713.59 and October 23 low of $701.16 remain dated downside references. The full intraday decline from October 6's $762.86 high to October 23's $701.16 low was about 8.09%; the October 28 close was about 3.49% above that low. A rebound and the prior decline are separate moves. The next daily retest and close will test whether the average holds.
IWM closed at $281.29, up 0.40%. Its 50-day average of $285.00 remained above price, while its 200-day average of $278.53 remained below it. A daily close above the 50-day or below the 200-day would change that position.
Two separate after-hours observations
Alphabet (GOOGL) ended the regular session at $324.89, below its 50-day and 200-day averages near $342 and $341. A separately recorded after-hours print was below $300, more than 8% below the close and below the July 23 intraday low near $315. Only a future completed daily close can confirm a break of that dated low.
The company's third-quarter release reported revenue of $127.577 billion, up 25%, including Google Cloud revenue of $30.709 billion, up 103%. GAAP diluted EPS was $2.12 versus $2.87 a year earlier.
Operating cash flow was $42.290 billion and capital spending was $51.355 billion, leaving company-defined non-GAAP free cash flow of negative $9.065 billion. The release also describes equity-securities losses in other income. The result and price move do not establish one cause for the after-hours repricing.
ServiceNow (NOW) ended the regular session at $150.13, above its 50-day average near $140 and 200-day average near $115. A separately recorded after-hours print was below $125, more than 16% below the completed close. That print was below the 50-day but above the 200-day; the next daily close will show whether the nearer line is actually lost.
The company's third-quarter release reported subscription revenue of $3.988 billion, up 21%, and current remaining performance obligations of $13.65 billion, up 20.5%.
GAAP diluted EPS was $0.27 versus $0.48; non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.00 versus $0.95 on the issuer's restated prior-year basis. The prior per-share values reflect a five-for-one split, and the adjusted comparison excludes gains and losses on strategic investments.
ServiceNow raised its AI annual-contract-value target and its company-defined non-GAAP free-cash-flow margin target. The later quote remains an observation, not a completed close.
Morning scenarios versus the completed session
Robinhood (HOOD) had an early recorded premarket print near $88 after Tuesday's $94.56 close. It recovered part of that decline but closed at $91.43, still below its 200-day average near $92.91 and October 26 intraday low of $91.63. The 50-day average near $108.78 remains a separate, higher test.
Visa (V) had an early premarket print near $394, below Tuesday's $397.36 intraday low. It moved back over that level during the session and closed at $400.60, below Tuesday's $401.86 close but above the dated low. Its 50-day average near $379.45 remains lower. A subsequent daily hold over $397.36 would strengthen the reclaim.
Seagate (STX) had an early premarket print near $655 after Tuesday's $667.85 close. It closed the regular session at $697.97, up about 4.51% and above its 200-day average near $689.02. Its October 28 intraday low of $621.55 was far below that close; the 50-day average near $805.84 remains much higher. A daily retest and close above the 200-day would support the rebound.
Three years of scheduled Fed decision days
Our study covers 24 scheduled Fed decision dates from November 2023 through September 2026. SPY rose on 10 of those full sessions and fell on 14; QQQ rose on 14 and fell on 10. The median absolute full-session close-to-close move was 0.72% for SPY and 0.87% for QQQ. Direction changed on the following session 12 times for SPY and 14 times for QQQ. This small historical sample describes full trading days, not the isolated effect of Fed announcements and not probabilities for tomorrow.
The next completed daily close will test QQQ's 50-day reclaim, IWM's position between its averages, and whether either after-hours decline becomes a confirmed daily break.
Market research only; not a recommendation to buy or sell. Completed October 28 daily prices use the U.S. regular session. After-hours and early premarket observations are labeled separately. Right-side estimated volume-by-price graphics use a limited Cboe BATS sample via TradingView; they do not establish buy or sell flow.
Related: October 28 Morning Watch, Daily Levels, Market Videos. Watch the October 28 After Close video.