Stock futures have changed little
Stock futures in the United States were little changed Wednesday as the corporate earnings season continued.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 16 points or less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 was unchanged, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell nearly 0.1%.
United Airlines shares rose more than 2% in premarket trading after the company beat Wall Street’s expectations in the most recent quarter, thanks to strong travel demand.
Meanwhile, Moderna’s stock rose more than 5% after the pharmaceutical company announced that its vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus could prevent the disease in older adults.
On Tuesday, the Dow fell 391 points or 1.14%. Goldman Sachs shares fell, dragging down the 30-stock index after the bank reported disappointing earnings. The S&P 500 fell 0.22%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was the only major average to deviate from the trend, rising 0.14%.
These moves come from earnings reports from large banks, which suggested diverging paths ahead even for names in the same sector. Goldman Sachs’ stock dropped more than 6% after revenue from investment banking and asset management fell. Morgan Stanley gained 5.9%, helped by higher-than-expected wealth management revenue.
Traders look forward to a slew of economic reports on Wednesday, including the latest producer price index and retail sales figures.
Dow Jones economists expect the producer price index to fall 0.1% in December after rising 0.3% the previous month.
Meanwhile, retail sales are expected to fall by 1% in December. The previous reading showed a 0.6% decrease.
In early trade, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was slightly higher. Stocks in travel and leisure rose 1.1%, while chemicals fell 0.6%.
Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate in the United Kingdom fell to 10.51% in December, slightly below analyst expectations. It was the second month of declines, following November’s drop from a 41-year high to 10.72%.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 0.09%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index was unchanged. Mainland The Shanghai Composite closed at 3,224.41, up 0.0862%, and the Shenzhen Component closed at 11,810.66, up 0.0862%.
Markets were surprised when the Bank of Japan maintained its yield curve tolerance band and ultra-dovish -0.11% interest rate.
