Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Little Changed as Investors Digest Slew of Earnings, Await Economic Data
Stock futures were little changed Wednesday morning following a deluge of corporate earnings reports and fresh economic data, as investors awaited more big-tech results later in the day.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%, while those linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq inched higher. The Nasdaq Composite surged to a record closing high yesterday, its first since July, while the S&P closed slightly higher and the Dow lost 0.4%.
Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) were giving the Nasdaq a boost before the bell on Wednesday, rising more than 6%, after the Google parent reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were down 8% after a disappointing earnings report.
Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META), which are scheduled to report their results after the closing bell, were both up about 2% in premarket trading. Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL), which are due to report tomorrow evening, were up 2% and down slightly, respectively.
Among other noteworthy movers this morning, Eli Lilly (LLY) shares tumbled more than 10% after the pharmaceuticals giant’s third-quarter results fell well short of analysts’ estimates. Reddit (RDDT) shares surged more than 20% after the social media platform reported strong results and a issued a rosy outlook.
Economic data released Wednesday morning offered a mixed picture of the economy, as private payrolls numbers from ADP came in much stronger than expected, while the first reading on third-quarter GDP was weaker than economists had anticipated.
Investors are watching all the data points closely as they look for signs that the economy remains on sound footing, as well as information that could influence the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decisions on interest rates. The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation is scheduled for release tomorrow morning, ahead of the highly anticipated October jobs report on Friday.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is correlated to expectations around where interest rates are headed, was at 4.26% after the latest data releases, down slightly from yesterday. The yield has been rising in recent weeks as market participants have recalibrated their thinking about how aggressive the Fed will be in cutting its benchmark lending rate.
Gold futures were up slightly at around $2,790, trading at record high levels, while bitcoin fell to around $71,800, after surging yesterday to around $73,500 and approaching an all-time high.