US stock futures rose on Wednesday as Wall Street digested a rotation out of Big Tech into more defensive corners of the market and awaited a key House vote that could end the longest government shutdown in US history.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) moved up roughly 0.2% on the heels of the blue-chip benchmark’s record-high close in a split session for stocks. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) added 0.4%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) popped 0.7%.
CBOT – Delayed Quote • USD
48,103.00
+73.00
+(0.15%)
As of 5:53:40 GMT-5. Market open.
Washington watchers are keeping an eye on Capitol Hill, where the Senate passed a spending bill late Monday aimed at reopening the government. The measure now heads to the House, which is expected to vote as soon as Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday will see several Federal Reserve officials speak, including President Trump’s newest appointee, Stephen Miran, and Christopher Waller, reportedly in contention to be named the central bank’s next chair. Investors are looking for any clues to the Fed’s rate move next month, with most bets still on a quarter-point cut.
After stocks surged on Monday, largely thanks to the emerging shutdown deal, Wall Street endured a split session on Tuesday: The Dow (^DJI) surged more than 550 points to a fresh record close, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped as investors took profits in high-flying artificial intelligence names. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) eked out a modest gain, marking its third straight positive day.
On the macro front, investors parsed a weaker-than-expected ADP employment report showing private payrolls declined in October, stoking fresh concerns about a cooling labor market. The data took on added weight as the ongoing government shutdown has delayed key federal economic releases.
Earnings season continues at a slower pace, as the majority of companies have already issued reports. Big names to keep an eye on for the rest of the week include Cisco (CSCO), Disney (DIS), and Applied Materials (AMAT).
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IBM debuts new quantum chip
IBM (IBM) unveiled a new quantum computing chip Tuesday that’s slated for release by the end of 2026, which would help the company achieve a key milemark toward making quantum computers useful.
The so-called IBM Quantum Nighthawk chip, used alongside the tech firm’s quantum software, is set to help the company achieve “quantum advantage” by the end of next year.
That advantage refers to a milestone at which quantum computing ” gives you a better outcome than any other possible way that humans have come up with doing it on a classical computer,” IBM’s vice president of quantum adoption Scott Crowder explained in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
IBM said it’s already working with customers from Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) to Vanguard to use its quantum computers. The company is working to release the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer called Starling in 2029.
Quantum stocks have exploded over the past year as tech giants such as Google (GOOG) and Nvidia (NVDA) as well as pure-play quantum tech providers like Rigetti (RGTI) and IonQ (IONQ) have introduced new chips and software.
IBM intends to keep its leadership in the space, however.
“By any meaningful metric whatsoever, from an adoption point of view, we’re way in the lead,” said Crowder. ” Frankly, most of our other competitors — if you really dig in, there’s some like massive gaps on their roadmaps.”
The stock is up roughly 43% for the year.
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AMD CEO forecasts 60% jump in data center revenue as market hits $1 trillion
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares rose over 5% in premarket after CEO Lisa Su laid out lofty forecasts at the chipmaker’s analyst day.
Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley reports:
Read more here.
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Japan’s finance minister issues warning as yen falls toward critical level
Bloomberg reports:
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama issued a fresh warning on currency movements as the yen (JPY=X) weakened toward the key threshold of 155 per dollar, inching closer to levels where authorities last intervened in markets.
“We’re seeing one-sided, rapid currency moves of late,” Katayama said in response to questions in parliament Wednesday, adding that it can’t be denied that the negative aspects of the weak yen are becoming clearer. “The government is watching for any excessive and disorderly moves with a high sense of urgency.” …
Katayama’s comments came as nervousness is building in the markets over the yen’s gradual move toward levels where interventions occurred in the past.
While most see that as still some distance away, further weakness in the country’s currency could trigger additional speculation, putting more pressure on Katayama to at least intervene verbally more frequently, before taking actual action.
The last time Japan intervened in the foreign exchange markets was in July last year, when the yen was trading around 160 to the dollar.
Read more here.
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Gold halts three-day streak of gains as traders assess potential end to government shutdown
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
