U.S. stock futures are showing little change on Wednesday, indicating that Wall Street benchmarks are set to open at their highest levels since April 2022. The positive earnings reports have been instrumental in supporting investor sentiment.
Stock-Index Futures Trading
Here is a breakdown of how stock-index futures are currently trading:
- S&P 500 futures (ES00, +0.02%) are down by 1 point, or 0%, at 4587.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00, +0.13%) have risen by 32 points, or 0.1%, to 35174.
- Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ00, +0.00%) have dipped by 9 points, or 0.1%, to 15966.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA, +1.06%) saw an increase of 367 points, or 1.06%, reaching 34952. The S&P 500 (SPX, +0.71%) rose by 32 points, or 0.71%, to 4555, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP, +0.76%) gained 109 points, or 0.76%, closing at 14354.
Optimism Surrounding Corporate Earnings
There is a growing sense of optimism that a strong corporate earnings season will continue to boost the stock market’s recent rally. This positive sentiment has pushed Wall Street benchmarks towards their highest open in 15 months.
The banking sector’s performance in the second quarter has received favorable responses from investors so far. Goldman Sachs (GS, +3.08%) and U.S. Bancorp (USB, +3.66%) are among the financial companies set to announce their results on Wednesday.
After the market closes, attention will turn to Tesla (TSLA, +1.02%) and Netflix (NFLX, +5.50%), as they present their figures.
Furthermore, investors are hopeful that the recent slowdown in inflation will prompt central banks to halt the increase of borrowing costs. The U.S. economy has shown resilience despite the interest rate rises implemented thus far.
Market Update: Inflation Eases, Pound Falls
In the United Kingdom, consumer prices experienced the slowest rise in over a year, leading to a decline in the value of the pound. This development also caused a decrease in U.S. and European government bond yields, while momentarily boosting S&P 500 futures.
According to Richard Hunter, interactive investor’s head of markets, the markets found comfort in the recent corporate and economic news, which indicated a potential decrease in runaway inflation. He also noted that the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates next week seems inevitable, but recent indicators suggest that it could mark the end of aggressive monetary tightening. Despite this, the ongoing reporting season is off to a strong start, implying that the economy has yet to be affected by rising interest rates.
Fundstrat’s head of technical strategy, Mark Newton, indicated that although the stock market has experienced recent gains, a period of consolidation may be approaching. However, he remains optimistic about the market’s technical setup and points out that key index constituents, such as Microsoft, have reached new all-time highs. Newton believes that observing market structure in the next 7-9 trading days of July will offer important insights.
On Wednesday, the U.S. will release economic updates, including housing starts and building permits for June, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.