The S&P 500 index was seen likely to mark its fifth straight gain and its third consecutive record close, as investors bet on price-support from monetary policy. Market participants also awaited a private-sector jobs report before the stock market opens which could provide a fresh catalyst for investors ahead of Friday’s nonfarm-payrolls.
U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for Independence Day, with equity markets closing at 1 p.m. Eastern Time and bond markets set to close at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
How are benchmarks faring?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMU19, +0.20% were up 51 points, or 0.2%, at 26,847, those for the S&P 500 index ESU19, +0.23% were trading 6.9 points, or 0.3%, higher at 2,986.5, while the Nasdaq-100 futures NQU19, +0.29% rose 22.25 points to reach 7,860.25, a rise of 0.3%.
On Tuesday, the Dow DJIA, +0.26% finished up 69 points, or 0.3%, at 26,786.75, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.29% gained 0.3%, or 8.7 points, setting a record of 2,973.02, while the Nasdaq Composite index COMP, +0.22% closed about 18 points higher, or 0.2%, to reach 8,1069.06.
The S&P 500 will try for a third all-time high in a row, while the Dow and Nasdaq are within 1% of their own records.
What’s driving the market?
Investors may be heartened by an easy-money regime sweeping the globe after current International Monetary Fund President Christine Lagarde was nominated to replace Mario Draghi as the head of the European Central Bank. Lagarde’s past rhetoric suggests that she may be more inclined to advocate for easier monetary policy, which could continue to fuel risk-taking here and abroad.
Lagarde’s nomination comes as President Donald Trump nominated Christopher Waller, who is executive vice president and research director at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Judy Shelton, the U.S. executive director for the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, for influential posts on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Waller is seen as an easy-money advocate, while Shelton recently told the Wall Street Journal that she thinks the Fed should lower interest rates immediately.
Market strategists say that policy backdrop has helped to drive assets perceived as risky higher as well as prices for government bonds, with yields moving in the opposite direction. Low debt yields globally can encourage buying in higher-yielding government paper even as they suggests that global economies are weakening.
German 10-year government debt TMBMKDE-10Y, -4.88% known as bunds, saw their yields fall to a fresh record low below zero to minus 0.382%, while the U.S. 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.00% lipped further toward its lowest since 2016 at 1.958%.
Meanwhile, investors will watch for private-sector employment data for June from Automatic Data Processing Inc. ADP, -2.66% which showed a meager 27,000 jobs created last month at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time.
Also on the radar are data due on weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., and two measures of the U.S. services sector, Markit services PMI and the ISM non-manufacturing index, due at 9:45 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., respectively. A report on factory orders for the month of May will also be published at 10:00 a.m.
Which stocks are in focus?
Electric-car maker Tesla Inc. TSLA, -1.15% reported delivery of 95,200 cars in the second quarter Tuesday afternoon, a record for a three-month period and higher than analysts expected. Shares were up 7.3% in premarket action.
Shares of Symantec Corp. SYMC, +0.18% were set to open at their highest level since May 10, 2018 after a report of a potential buyout by chip makerBroadcom Inc. AVGO, -1.67% Shares of Symatec were set to rally nearly 20% at the start of Wednesday trade.
Canopy Growth Corp. CGC, -1.26% WEED, -0.72% said Wednesday that its co-Chief Executive Bruce Linton is stepping down from that role and will leave the board. U.S. listed shares of he cannabis company, the largest by market capitalization, were down 3.3% before the start of trade Wednesday.
How are other markets trading?
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.07% fell less than 0.1% on Wednesday while China’s Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -0.94% declined 0.9%, while the CSI 300 Index 000300, -1.11% closed down 1.1%.
European stocks rose across the board, with the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.80% rising 0.8%. Gold prices GCN19, +1.04% were on the rise, up 1.6%.
The U.S. dollar DXY, -0.02% was down 0.05%, while oil prices US:CLM9 gained altitude after a sharp fall on Tuesday.
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