Stock futures showed minimal change early Wednesday following a strong day for Wall Street, with the S&P 500 hitting a record high on Tuesday.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 60 points, or 0.1%, while both S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures slipped about 0.1%.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 reached an all-time intraday peak of 6,129.63 before closing at 6,129.58. Despite ongoing concerns about persistent inflation and President Donald Trump’s trade policies, investor optimism continued to drive the market upward.
Craig Johnson, Chief Market Technician at Piper Sandler, attributed the market’s resilience to investors not backing down in the face of rising uncertainty surrounding tariffs and inflation. He noted that the market could remain volatile as investors adjust their focus to smaller companies amidst weakening crude oil prices, declining Treasury yields, and a pullback in the US dollar.
In recent news, Trump suggested imposing a 25% tariff on imports of automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.
Today’s economic data focus includes the release of the January housing starts report at 8:30 a.m. ET. Additionally, the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, will offer insight into the Fed’s ongoing concerns about US inflation.
In early trading, several stocks were making headlines:
- Capital One Financial gained 1.6% after news that shareholders approved the company’s acquisition of Discover Financial Services.
- Toll Brothers saw a more than 5% drop in premarket trading after reporting weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results.
- Bumble dropped 16.8% following weak first-quarter guidance, significantly missing analysts’ revenue and earnings forecasts.
Elsewhere, KBW upgraded Travelers to outperform, raising the stock’s price target by $11 to $286, suggesting significant upside potential despite short-term volatility concerns.
Globally, markets showed mixed results. In Asia-Pacific, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down by 0.27%, while South Korea’s Kospi surged by 1.7%. Meanwhile, European markets were also varied, with Germany’s DAX gaining 0.28%, while France’s CAC 40 and the UK’s FTSE 100 dipped slightly.
CNBC and Investor’s Business Daily contributed to this report.
