Stock futures were slightly higher on Wednesday, the last full day of trading before Thanksgiving.
By around 7 a.m. ET, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq were all up more than 0.1%, with Nasdaq futures stimulating markets by 0.27%.
Wednesday will serve as the last full day of trading this week, with US markets closed for Thanksgiving tomorrow and markets only open for half a day on Black Friday.
On the economic data front, Wednesday morning will be busy with data on jobless claims, manufacturing activity, consumer confidence and new home sales set for release.
Traders will be looking to capitalize on the recent momentum for US equities, with the S&P 500 closing above 4,000 for the first time in two months on Tuesday, while the Dow closed at a three-month high.
Yahoo finance
Live Stock Market News Updates: Futures Rising Ahead of Thanksgiving
Myles Udland
Myles Udland Senior Markets Writer
Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at 1:10 p.m.
Stock futures were slightly higher early Wednesday, the last full day of trading before the Thanksgiving holiday.
As of 7:00 a.m. ET, futures related to the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq were all up more than 0.1%, with the Nasdaq futures markets up 0.27%.
Wednesday is the last full trading day of this week, with US markets closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving and markets open for just half a day on Black Friday.
On the economic data front, Wednesday morning will be loaded with data on jobless claims, manufacturing activity, consumer sentiment and new home sales, all due for release.
Traders will look to take advantage of recent momentum in US equities, with the S&P 500 closing above 4,000 for the first time in two months on Tuesday, while the Dow closed at a three-month high.
S&P 500 INDEX (^SPX)View quote details
Chicago Options – Deferred Rate (USD)
4,003.58+53.64 (1.36%)
Closes: 5:17pm EST
Over the past month, the Dow is up nearly 10%, while the S&P 500 is up more than 6.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is lagging behind, rising less than 3% in that period as higher rates and collapsing cryptocurrency markets weigh on the broader tech sector.
However, the recent market action left some strategists feeling more optimistic towards the end of the year, even as the high-profile teams at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs released a more cautious outlook for the stock market this week.
“The market is like a coiled spring,” Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets, told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday. “I think the market will continue to go up…go up. I really think there’s a good chance we’ll end the year well above 4,000 [on the S&P 500].”
Belski has a year-end price target of 4,300 for the S&P 500, which means the index could gain around another 8% by the end of this year.
Elsewhere in the markets, oil prices remained under pressure early Wednesday, with WTI futures trading down 2% to around $79 a barrel, just a few dollars off 2022 lows, amid reports conflicting reports on Saudi production this week and news that the United States is getting closer to announcing a price cap on Russian oil exports.
In the cryptocurrency markets, the aftermath of the FTX sector collapse continues to reverberate, even as the price of bitcoin surged by a few percentage points early Wednesday to trade near $16,580.
Digital Currency Group, the parent company of troubled exchange Genesis Global, became the latest major cryptocurrency player to go short on Tuesday and reassure investors that a bankruptcy filing was not imminent.
In a note to DCG employees, CEO Barry Silbert said the decision to halt redemptions and new business on Genesis last week was due to a “liquidity and maturity mismatch in Genesis’ loan book.”
Silbert disclosed that intercompany loans were made between DCG and Genesis, but argued that these loans were made “in the same spirit as hundreds of cryptocurrency investment firms.”
In terms of revenues, Deere & Co.’s results led. (DE) shares are up about 5% this morning, with the agriculture giant reporting earnings that beat expectations.
Other stocks that moved early Wednesday included names that reported results after market close on Tuesday, including HP (HPQ), Nordstrom (JWN) and Autodesk (ADSK).
HP shares rose about 2% Wednesday after the company announced plans to cut its workforce by up to 12% or 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025 in response to a market slowdown of PCs.
Nordstrom shares fell as much as 9% early Wednesday after reporting lower sales in the most recent quarter and forecasting lower earnings for the full year.
Autodesk shares fell as much as 10% after the company lowered its billing and cash flow outlook this year, citing “lower demand for multi-year, upfront contracts and higher demand for annual contracts than we expected” .