U.S. stock index futures climbed on Wednesday as a bond selloff eased up ahead of the latest inflation report due Thursday, and investors absorbed another batch of earnings reports.
How are stock-index futures trading?
- S&P 500 futures ES00, +0.83% rose 0.8% to 4,547
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, +0.60% rose 0.5%, or 180 points, to 35,532
- Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, +1.22% gained 1.1% to 14,897
Tuesday’s action saw the Dow industrials DJIA, +1.06% climb 371.65 points, or 1.1%, to close at 35,462.78, its best daily gain since Jan. 31. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.84% rose or 0.8% to end at 4,521.54 for its best day since Feb. 2. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +1.28% climbed 1.3% to finish at 14,194.45.
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What’s driving the markets?
Investors on Wednesday were getting a breather from a recent bond selloff. The yield on the Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 1.933% was last down 3 basis points to 1.922% after reaching 1.954% on Tuesday, its highest since 2019.
But investors are still keeping an eye on the key 2% level on the 10-year, especially as important inflation data looms for Thursday. Annual consumer price inflation is expected to rise to 7.2% for January, after reaching a 40-year high of 7% in December.
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“Improved sentiment is on the back of more optimism about reopening, meanwhile the hawkish Fed expectations and the rising yields continue being a serious threat to the actual gains, as the major triggers behind the latest bond selloff are still in play,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, in a note to clients.
“This means that there is a high risk of a sudden mood swing before Thursday’s U.S. inflation data,” she said.
More earnings will roll in Wednesday, with The Walt Disney Co. DIS, -0.02% and MGM Resorts International MGM, +3.49% and ride-share operator Uber Technologies Inc. UBER, +2.13% in the spotlight after the market’s close, and
Read: After ‘baptism by fire,’ Disney CEO looks for a rebound
Which stocks are in focus?
- Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. CMG, +0.51% rose 6% in premarket trading after the fast-food chain more than doubled its profit to a record high in 2021, and spoke of expansion plans.
- CVS Health Corp. CVS, +1.30% stock climbed 6% after profit and earnings for the health services and drugstore operator beat expectations, though its full-year outlook was mixed.
- Mandiant Inc. MNDT, +17.86% shares rose more than 2% after the cybersecurity software and services company reported forecast-beating results. Shares climbed during Tuesday’s regular session following a report that Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +1.20% was in talks to buy the company.
- Lyft Inc. LYFT, +5.37% shares fell 3% after the ride-share operator met its goal of full-year positive Ebitda and spoke of a “solid” fourth quarter, but offered a cautious forecast.
How are other assets trading?
- The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.22%, a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, fell 0.2%.
- West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery CL.1, -0.31% CLH22, -0.31% slipped 0.5% to $88.90 a barrel. Gold futures for April delivery GC00, -0.01% GCJ22, -0.01% were flat at $1.827.60, near its Tuesday close, which was the highest most-active contract settlement since Jan. 26, FactSet data showed.
- Bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.01% was down 0.3%
- The Stoxx 600 Europe SXXP, +1.61% rose 1.5%, while the FTSE 100 UKX, +0.76% gained 0.5%.
- The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.79% rose 0.7%, while the Hang Seng Index HSI00, -0.54% jumped 2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, +1.08% rose 1%.
