US Stock Futures Steady After S&P 500 Extends Gains

US stock futures remained relatively unchanged early Wednesday following the S&P 500’s third consecutive day of gains.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by just seven points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped slightly, each down about 0.1%.

One of the notable moves in premarket trading came from GameStop, which surged 13.4% after announcing that its board had unanimously approved a plan to invest corporate cash into bitcoin. This move mirrors the strategy of MicroStrategy, a company known for its large bitcoin holdings.

Despite an improvement in stock prices, recent consumer confidence data revealed that US consumers’ short-term expectations regarding income, business conditions, and job prospects have declined to their lowest level in 12 years. However, analysts argue that this does not necessarily indicate an impending recession.

Paul Hickey, co-founder of Bespoke Investment Group, noted that while consumer sentiment surveys look weak, real economic indicators remain solid.

“When you look at the hard data, we’re not seeing nearly the collapse that we’re seeing in the soft data,” Hickey said.

He cited stable housing starts, industrial production, and home sales.

Traders are keeping an eye on upcoming economic reports, including February’s durable goods orders, set to be released Wednesday morning. The data could provide insights into the strength of business investment and consumer spending.

According to the Commerce Department, durable goods orders unexpectedly rose 0.9% in February, surpassing expectations of a 1% decline. However, non-defense capital goods orders—a key indicator of future business spending—fell 0.3%, suggesting some softening in capital investment.

Investors are also monitoring potential trade policy changes. Reports suggest that President Donald Trump is considering imposing tariffs on copper imports in the coming weeks. The Commerce Department has been investigating the issue since February, and a decision may come sooner than expected.

This development comes as the administration prepares to implement reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which could impact a broad range of imports. Wolfe Research has warned that the tariffs could be more severe than expected, despite earlier hopes that they might be softened.

Several companies saw notable movement in premarket trading:

• GameStop surged 16% after its bitcoin investment announcement.

• Dollar Tree gained 5% after announcing plans to sell its Family Dollar business for $1 billion.

• Playtika, a mobile gaming company, jumped 13.9% following an analyst upgrade from Bank of America.

Despite recent volatility, William Blair remains bullish on Tesla, citing strong growth in its Megapack battery business and upcoming expansion into ride-sharing services. Tesla shares have rebounded over 15% this week but remain down 28% for the year.

On Tuesday, seven out of 11 stock market sectors closed higher, with communication services leading gains at 1.43%, while utilities lagged, down 1.61%.

USA Today and CNBC contributed to this report.