BUZZ-PREVIEW: Microsoft eases with rest of tech; results due after the bell

** Shares of Microsoft MSFT.O were down 1% in early afternoon trading Wed along with other big tech stocks, ahead of Q2 results due after the closing bell

** Shares of Microsoft, which has a partnership with U.S.-based OpenAI, fell sharply on Mon in a broad tech selloff sparked by the recent popularity of a low-cost Chinese AI model DeepSeek

** On Wed, the New York Times reported that OpenAI, ChatGPT's maker, said it is reviewing evidence that DeepSeek harvested large amounts of data generated by OpenAI technologies

** Investors will be eager for any comments from MSFT executives on DeepSeek

** Analysts expect MSFT to report qtrly rev of $68.78 bln vs $62.02 bln in the yr-ago qtr, while they expect earnings of $3.11/shr vs $2.93 a yr ago, according to LSEG

** Of the 57 analysts who cover MSFT, 53 recommend a "strong buy" or "buy," four recommend a "hold" and no analysts rate the stock a "sell" or "strong sell"

** The median PT on the stock is $500; MSFT was last at $442.93

** Including the session move, MSFT is up 5.1% YTD compared with a 5.3% gain in the Dow Jones industrial avg .DJI

** MSFT options imply a 4.6% swing for the shares, in either direction, by Fri; over the last eight quarters, on average, the shares moved 3.3% the day after results, according to Trade Alert