U.S. stock futures were higher on Wednesday, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices rose, following Tuesday’s lower close. Dow Futures were slightly lower.
Investors are waiting for some direction on the Federal Reserve’s trajectory, following its suspension of guidance, as the minutes of the Fed’s July FOMC meeting will be published today.
Asian markets plunged on Wednesday as South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled over 5% and semiconductor giants SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics suffered steep losses, triggering a sell-side sidecar in Seoul. The regional sell-off came amid escalating US-Iran tensions that pushed Brent crude above $91 a barrel after President Donald Trump ruled out talks with Tehran.
“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.68%, and the two-year bond was at 4.15%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing a 32.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking the current interest rates during its September meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.02% |
| S&P 500 | 0.08% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.16% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.04% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was up 0.052% at $767.85, while the QQQ advanced by 0.12% to $718.37.
Stocks In Focus
Keysight Technologies
- Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE: KEYS ) rose 3.06% in premarket on Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter financial results and issuing strong fourth-quarter guidance.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that KEYS maintains a strong price trend in the long, short, and medium terms, with a poor growth score.
Mercury Systems
- Mercury Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY ) dropped 10.76% after reporting mixed fourth-quarter financial results. Its quarterly earnings of 37 cents per share missed the analyst consensus estimate of 38 cents per share.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MRCY maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a poor value score.
SK Hynix
- SK Hynix Inc. ADR (NASDAQ: SKHY ) jumped 5.76% despite a 9.75% drop in its South Korean-listed shares after it announced plans to buy back $29 billion worth of treasury shares.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SKHY maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a good growth score.
Shell
- Shell PLC (NYSE: SHEL ) was 0.74% higher as it strengthened a 20-year partnership with Hyundai Motors and renewed a global cooperation agreement.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SHEL maintains a strong price trend in the long, medium, and short terms, with a good value score.
Target
- Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT ) was 0.41% lower as it is supposed to report earnings before the opening bell. Analysts expect earnings of $2.32 per share on revenue of $26.13 billion.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TGT maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a good quality score.
Read Also: Stock Market: Will S&P 500 Open Up or Down Today?
Cues From Last Session
Tech, industrials, and materials led S&P 500 losses on Tuesday, though energy and health care bucked the trend to close higher. Broader U.S. stocks settled lower as the Nasdaq dropped over 350 points, fueled by persistent inflation worries, rising crude oil, and high Treasury yields.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -0.22% | 53,343.40 |
| S&P 500 | -0.69% | 7,691.76 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -1.33% | 26,289.71 |
| Russell 2000 | -1.30% | 3,017.89 |
Insights From Analysts
Professor Jeremy Siegel remains highly optimistic about the U.S. stock market, primarily driven by a robust corporate performance that offsets softer economic data. He notes that despite a surprisingly weak retail sales report bringing third-quarter GDP estimates down to a “healthy but not booming” 2% range, the market continues to impress and hit record highs.
The bedrock of this market strength is corporate profits. Siegel highlights that we are witnessing double-digit earnings growth, stating, “This earnings season could rank among the most impressive in recent history.” Furthermore, a recent unwinding of leveraged growth positions acted as a market stress test that was “passed with flying colors,” easing fears of systemic risk.
On the economic front, Siegel observes that inflation is gradually improving and oil prices remain contained. Looking ahead to Federal Reserve policy, he expects rates to remain unchanged in September but urges Chairman Kevin Warsh to clarify the Fed’s reaction function at the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium.
Ultimately, Siegel summarizes his bullish outlook by concluding, “The combination remains favorable for equities: earnings are exceptional, oil is manageable, inflation is gradually improving and economic growth, while moderating, is not collapsing.”
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Wednesday.
- Minutes of the Fed’s July FOMC meeting will be published at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.38% to hover around $84.38 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.66% to hover around $4,363.09 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.20% lower at the 99.4570 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.30% higher at $64,404.74 per coin over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets were lower on Wednesday, except Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index. China’s CSI 300, Australia’s ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and South Korea’s Kospi indices fell. European markets were mostly mixed in early trading.
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