US stock futures usually fell as investors waited for a day of earnings reports and a Federal Reserve meeting.
Futures linked to the broad S&P 500 index were down 0.8% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.7%. Futures pegged to the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 were down 0.1%.
Investors were gearing up for one of the busiest days of the quarterly earnings season, with Boeing expected to register before the opening bell. Revenue from tech giants Apple,
Facebook and Tesla come out just after the market closes. Investors are curious to see how those companies fared in a quarter marked by persistent lockdowns and stay-at-home orders.
“The bar for beat technology stocks is quite high because we were still in lockdown and yet they seem to be doing well compared to those higher expectations,” said Hani Redha, a portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments.
Microsoft’s stock gained 3.5% ahead of the opening bubble after the company reported record quarterly sales on Tuesday. Shares closed on another high Tuesday.
Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 5.7% in premarket trade after drugstore chain Starbucks named operations head Rosalind Brewer as its next chief executive.
Profits have so far been to the liking and investors continue to bet on economic support from the Federal Reserve and a possible stimulus plan from the Biden government. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 hit a fresh intraday high before falling in the closing minutes of trading.
“The Fed and Biden’s new stimulus plans – it’s all a very positive backdrop to the stock market,” said Brian Walsh, Jr., a portfolio manager at Walsh & Nicholson Financial Group. “They say we’re not going to let the markets fail right now, and with the lowest possible bond yields, there’s nowhere else to be found.”
The Fed is widely expected to leave monetary policy unchanged and Chairman Jerome Powell is likely to underline the bank’s commitment to supporting the economy with low interest rates and buying bonds in the near future. Mr Powell will likely be faced with questions about the health of the economy and how long the Fed’s stimulus measures will last.
GameStop was up more than 90% in premarket trading, while day traders, powered by social media, seemed ready to pile on for another day in the store. The stock rose 113% on Tuesday amid a battle between individual investors and hedge funds shorting the stock. After markets closed on Tuesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, “Gamestonk !!” in a clear reference to the crazy trade.
Durable goods order data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The numbers are expected to show an eighth consecutive monthly increase in orders, underscoring the resilience of manufacturing during the pandemic.
In commodity markets, Brent oil, the international benchmark for oil, rose 0.7% to $ 56.01 a barrel. Gold prices fell 0.4% to $ 1,844.30 per troy ounce.
Abroad, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.5%, while stock indices were mixed in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.3%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.3%, while in mainland China the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 hit a fresh intraday high before falling in the closing minutes of trading.
Photo:
Nicole Pereira / Associated Press
Write to Will Horner at [email protected]
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