Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor.
U.S. stocks are priming for a firmer start on Wednesday, potentially striving to inflect higher from the weakness seen so far in April. As some bullish market watchers pointed out there could be an inflection from the second half of April, with earnings potentially serving as an upside catalyst.
Following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Tuesday, most economists have dialed back expectations of rate cuts this year, as they began to bake in the possibility of the central bank staying higher for longer than expected. Against the backdrop, bond yields could also be on investors’ radar.
Futures Performance On Wednesday ( as of 6:50 a.m. EDT)
| Futures | Performance (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | +0.30% |
| S&P 500 | +0.41% |
| Dow | +0.46% |
| R2K | +0.67% |
In premarket trading on Wednesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) added 0.45% to $505.82, and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) gained 0.31% to $432.44, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Previous Session:
Traders, wary about the possibility of no rate cuts, showed indecision on Tuesday. The major indices moved back and forth across the unchanged line in a directionless manner before closing narrowly mixed. As Powell reentered the hawkish policy lane, the ten-year bond yield rose to the highest level since Nov. 13, 2023, on an intraday basis, reflecting the rate worries of traders. The negativity was to some extent mitigated by UnitedHealth Group, Inc.’s (NYSE:UNH) positive earnings.
The Dow snapped a six-session losing streak and yet closed only modestly higher.
| Index | Performance In (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.12% | 15,865.25 |
| S&P 500 Index | -0.21% | 5,051.41 |
| Dow Industrials | +0.17% | 37,798.97 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.42% | 1,967.48 |
Insights From Analysts:
With Powell signaling on Tuesday that a rate cut may not materialize this year, an analyst said the market would be better off discounting the possibility. Jamie Cox, Managing Partner at Harris Financial Group, said, “Markets need to focus on the fact that rates are sufficiently restrictive, instead of how many cuts are in the pipeline.”
Fund manager Louis Navellier expects a strong earnings season this time due to a resilient consumer and strong economy. “Once stock indexes and interest rates stabilize, and geopolitical risks subside, solid earnings should bring money in from the sidelines,” he said. The fund manager sees a 200-point or 4% drop in the S&P 500 as an attractive buying opportunity.
Upcoming Economic Data:
The Energy Information Administration will release its customary weekly petroleum status report at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
The Treasury is set to auction 20-year bonds at 1 p.m. EDT.
The Fed will release the Beige Book report at 2 p.m. EDT, which contains anecdotal evidence of economic conditions in the 12 Fed districts.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester is scheduled to speak at 5:30 p.m. EDT and Fed Governor Michelle Bowman at 7:15 p.m. EDT.
Stocks In Focus:
- J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) fell nearly 6% in premarket trading following its quarterly results announcement, while United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) rose over 5%.
- Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN), Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)are among those reporting earnings ahead of the market open.
- Notable names reporting after the close are CSX Corp. (NASDAQ:CSX), Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA), Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS).
Crude oil futures were down for a third straight session, as they fell about a percentage point to $84.58, and gold futures traded marginally lower but held above the $2,400 mark. The U.S. 10-year yielded 4.637% at the last check, slightly off from the previous session, when it rose to a five-month high.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rose over 1% and is taking a shy at the $63,000 level — a far cry from the $72,700 level it traded at earlier this month.
Sentiment in Asia was mostly muted, with most major markets, barring China and Taiwan, seeing lackluster trading, while European stocks rebounded strongly from Tuesday’s losses.
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