Stocks may see continued strength in early trading on Wednesday, extending the upward move seen over the past few sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.2 percent.
A continued decline by treasury yields may contribute to strength on Wall Street, with yields pulling back further off their highest levels in over sixteen years.
Treasuries have recently benefited from their appeal as a safe haven amid the deadly conflict between Hamas and Israel.
However, stock futures gave back some ground following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of September.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.5 percent in September after advancing by 0.7 percent in August. Economists had expected prices to rise by 0.4 percent.
The producer price growth was partly due to a continued surge in energy prices, which spiked by 3.3 percent in September after skyrocketing by 10.3 percent in August.
The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth accelerated to 2.2 percent in September from a revised 2.0 percent in August.
Economists had expected the pace of price growth to come in unchanged compared to the 1.6 percent originally reported for the previous month.
After opening on a slightly subdued note, U.S. stocks climbed higher and held firm throughout the day’s session on Tuesday to eventually close with solid gains.
Despite concerns about the ongoing war in the Middle East, the mood in the markets remained positive as dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials lowered expectations for further interest rate hikes and pushed down bond yields.
The major averages all ended on a firm note. The Dow settled with a gain of 134.65 points or 0.4 percent at 33,739.30. The S&P 500 climbed 22.58 points or 0.5 percent to 4,358.24, and the Nasdaq advanced 78.60 points or 0.6 percent to 13,562.84.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slumping $0.94 to $85.03 a barrel after falling $0.41 to $85.97 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,882.10, up $6.80 compared to the previous session’s close of $1,875.30. On Tuesday, gold climbed $11.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 148.95 yen compared to the 148.71 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0597 compared to yesterday’s $1.0605.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May See Further Upside In Early Trading
2023-10-11 12:57:46
