Following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session, stocks are likely to show a strong move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 1.5 percent.
Stocks are likely to benefit from a positive reaction to the Labor Department’s closely watched report on consumer price inflation in the month of December.
While the report showed consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected in December, the annual rate of core consumer price growth unexpectedly slowed.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in December after rising by 0.3 percent in November. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by another 0.3 percent.
The report also said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices accelerated to 2.9 percent in December from 2.7 percent in November, in line with economist estimates.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, edged up by 0.2 percent in December after increasing by 0.3 percent for four straight months. The uptick matched expectations.
The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices slowed to 3.2 percent in December from 3.3 percent in November, while economists had expected yearly growth to remain unchanged.
Positive sentiment is also likely to be generated in reaction to positive earnings news from financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Citigroup (C).
JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are all seeing notable pre-market strength after reporting quarterly earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages swung back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 43.71 points or 0.2 percent to 19,044.39, the S&P 500 inched up 6.69 points or 0.1 percent to 5,842.91 and the Dow climbed 221.16 points or 0.5 percent to 42,518.28.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.0 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.8 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.66 to $78.16 a barrel after slumping $1.32 to $77.50 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $2,712.10, up $29.80 compared to the previous session’s close of $2,682.30. On Tuesday, gold inched up $3.70.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.34 yen compared to the 157.96 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0335 compared to yesterday’s $1.0308.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May See Early Strength In Reaction To Inflation Data, Bank Earnings
2025-01-15 13:56:03
