Stock futures trade higher than the profits of banks

US stock futures tended to trade higher as Wall Street’s earnings season kicked off, starting with the big banks.

The major futures indices are suggesting small moves when the Wednesday session begins.

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The earnings season for the first quarter kicks off Wednesday morning with three banks – Dow members JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and financial services firm Wells Fargo reporting results.

An inflation-related report will be added to the economic calendar in the form of import and export prices for March. Prices of imported goods are likely to have risen 1% last month, compared to the 1.3% increase in February. In the meantime, export prices are also expected to increase by 1%, compared to an increase of 1.6% in the previous month.

CONSUMER PRICES HAVE THE BIGGEST MONTHLY RISE SINCE AUGUST 2012

On Tuesday, the US government reported that consumer prices rose by 0.6% more than expected in March, the highest rate since 2012.

In Europe, London’s FTSE added 0.2%, German DAX declined 0.1% and France’s CAC rose 0.3%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.4%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6%.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index closed 0.3% higher in choppy trading. Technology and consumer shares won over optimism that vaccine rollout will allow business to return to normal. Johnson & Johnson declined after US regulators suspended the use of their single-dose vaccine to investigate potentially dangerous blood clots.

Ticker Safety Last Change Change%
I: DJI DOW JONES AVERAGE 33677.27 -68.13 -0.20%
SP500 S&P 500 4141.59 +13.60 + 0.33%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 33,677.27. The Nasdaq, which has more technology stocks, gained 1.1% to 13,996.10.

Apple was up 2.4% and Microsoft gained 1%. Technology stocks have been boosted by the expectation that post-pandemic Americans will switch even more to online buying and entertainment.

Johnson & Johnson was down 1.3%. Moderna, which also makes a COVID-19 vaccine, climbed 7.4%.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell from 1.67% on Monday to 1.62%.

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In the energy markets, US crude oil rose 95 cents to $ 61.14 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract moved up 48 cents on Tuesday to close at $ 60.18. Brent crude, the international price standard, gained 99 cents in London to $ 64.63 a barrel. It added 39 cents to $ 63.67 a barrel in the previous session.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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