Stock futures rise with retail earnings on tap
Investors have been encouraged by stronger U.S. corporate profits and consumer spending
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U.S. equity futures were trading higher ahead of the Wednesday session on Wall Street.
The major futures indexes suggested a gain of 0.3% when the opening bell rings.
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Stocks are poised to bounce back follow a session where all three indexes had opened modestly higher before losing steam and ending the day little changed.
The retail earnings parade continues Wednesday with Dick’s Sporting Goods and Abercrombie & Fitch reporting ahead of the opening bell. After the close will come results from Williams-Sonoma and American Eagle Outfitters.
Investors have been encouraged by stronger U.S. corporate profits and consumer spending. That has kept the U.S. stock market near record highs and boosted optimism in global markets.
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Data due out Thursday are expected to show the biggest global economy accelerated in the first three months of this year after expanding at an annual rate of 4.3% in 2020's final quarter. Economists expect a huge rebound this year following the deepest slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In Europe, London's FTSE is off 0.2%, Germany's DAX declined 0.2% and France's CAC is higher by less than 0.1%.
Asian stock markets rose Wednesday. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 0.3%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.9% and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43389.6 | -55.39 | -0.13% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5893.62 | +23.00 | +0.39% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18791.806377 | +111.69 | +0.60% |
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index slipped 0.2% to 4,188.13 after spending much of Tuesday wavering between gains and losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2% to 34,312.46. The Nasdaq fell less than 0.1% to 13,657.17.
Financial, energy and health care stocks accounted for much of the decline.
Moderna rose 3.1% after the drugmaker said its coronavirus vaccine was found to be effective in children ages 12-15.
Technology and communication stocks gained. So did big retailers, cruise lines and other companies that rely on consumer spending.
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In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude slipped 23 cents to $65.85 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 2 cents on Tuesday to $66.07 per barrel. Brent crude, the basis for international prices, is off 6 cents to $68.62 per barrel in London. It rose 19 cents the previous session to $68.65 a barrel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.