Written by Lisa Pauline Matakkal and Purvi Agarwal
(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were mostly weak on Wednesday after selling in tech and oil stocks in pre-market trading as investors awaited quarterly results from Morgan Stanley and other banks. .
Chip giant Nvidia rose 0.6% in pre-market trading, after falling nearly 5% in pre-market trading following reports that the Biden administration is considering restrictions on AI chip exports by U.S. companies.
Semiconductor stocks were mixed, with U.S.-listed semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holdings falling 3.9% after the company lowered its full-year sales forecast on Tuesday.
Intel fell 2% after the China Cybersecurity Association recommended starting a review of chipmakers’ products sold in the country.
The Dow E-mini fell 4 points (0.01%), the S&P 500 E-mini rose 2.25 points (0.04%) and the Nasdaq 100 E-mini rose 20.25 points (0.1%).
Wall Street was dragged down by sharp declines in semiconductor and oil stocks on Tuesday, but investors gave mixed reviews on earnings. Shares of health insurance company UnitedHealth fell, offsetting gains from strong financial results at major banks.
Corporate results will be released later this week, as well as key economic indicators such as retail sales and industrial production data on Thursday, all of which are linked to consumer health and growth in the world’s largest economy. It is hoped that this will shed some light on the outlook.
Despite Tuesday’s decline, the S&P 500 and Dow were trading near record highs, with continued optimism about future interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and euphoria on economic growth. .
“I continue to view any dip as a buying opportunity,” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. “The downside described above is likely to prove shallow and short-lived in nature.” said.
Banks have been in the spotlight this day, with most major banks reporting generally positive results so far. Proceeds from financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley will be paid out before the bell.
“If banks prove to be a reliable barometer of the broader earnings season, solid earnings growth and solid economic growth will continue to be the driving force driving the market higher,” Brown said.
Citizen Financial Group fell 1.2%, while US Bancorp rose 2% after the banks reported third-quarter results.
According to CME’s FedWatch, more than 90% of respondents expect a 25 basis point (bp) rate cut at the November meeting of the Federal Reserve.
Import and export price statistics for September are also scheduled to be released later on the same day.
Shares of most interest-rate-sensitive megacap tech stocks rose modestly in premarket trading, helped by lower U.S. Treasury yields. Alphabet and Amazon.com both rose 0.2%, while Apple was flat after hitting a record high on Tuesday.
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Shares of Interactive Brokers Group fell 4.5% after the company reported lower-than-expected adjusted third-quarter profits.
JB Hunt rose 6.8% after the bell on Tuesday, beating third-quarter profit estimates.
(Reporting by Lisa Matakkal and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
