U.S. equity futures were mixed in early Wednesday trading, while Treasury bond yields and the dollar held steady, as investors braced for a key series of economic data releases and a pair of megacap tech earnings after the bell to close out the final trading day of the month.
Stocks ended higher across the board Tuesday, extending the S&P 500’s recent winning streak to six consecutive sessions, the longest since late November, as markets looked to claw back some of their sharp April declines amid the biggest post-inauguration selloff since 1973.
Trade policy, tariff uncertainty and slowing earnings growth continue to dominate market concerns, and move by President Donald Trump yesterday to ease levies on the auto industry added a bullish tenor to Tuesday’s trading session.
A key reading of consumer confidence, however, slumped to the lowest level in nearly five years last month, and trade figures showed the biggest tally of U.S. imports on record as businesses front-loaded purchases ahead of President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.
That surge, which included a records goods deficit of $162 billion, is likely to shave nearly 2 percentage points from first quarter GDP, with economists now looking for a contraction in growth when the Commerce Department publishes its initial estimate at 8:30 am Eastern time.
Prior to that, payroll processing group ADP will publish its April employment report at 8:15 am Eastern time, with analysts looking for a headline private sector hiring tally of around 114,000 and slowing wage gains for job changers in a softening labor market.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will also publish it March reading of PCE inflation for the month of March, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, which is expected to show the final month of price pressure easing ahead of the broader tariff impact on consumer spending.
Stocks suffered the worst “100 day” period for any President since Richard Nixon follow President Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Investors will also eye the start of the megacap tech earnings season with updates from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) , both of which are slated for after the close of trading. Magnificent 7 peers Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) are slated to report after the close of trading on Thursday.
“While tariff uncertainty has been front and center for the markets and the trade wars/negotiations is a key X variable for tech stocks moving ahead, the Street is laser focused to hear from Big Tech titans to get a better grasp on the demand and spending patterns abound from enterprises and consumers,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Related: Analyst reboots Apple stock price target ahead of earnings
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is down 0.9% for the month of April, are priced for a modest 6 point opening bell decline.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, are priced for a small 28 point gain while the tech-focused Nasdaq is called 50 points lower.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were last trading at 4.162%, the lowest in three weeks, heading into the start of the New York session, while the U.S. dollar index was marked 0.14% higher against a basket of its global peers at 99.373.
Global oil prices continued their recent slump, largely tied to growth concerns and trade policy, and likely to close out April with their biggest monthly decline in three and a half years.
WTI futures for June delivery, which are tightly-linked to U.S. gasoline prices, were last seen 61 cents lower on the session at $59.81 per barrel.
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In overseas markets, a stronger-than-expected reading for first quarte GDP growth in the Eurozone, which was pegged at 0.4%, as well as a solid set of bank earnings gave the Stoxx 600 a boost, with the benchmark last seen 0.34% higher in mid-day Frankfurt trading.
Britain’s FTSE 100, meanwhile, was last seen 0.12% higher on the day in London.
Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.57% on the final trading day of April, taking the benchmark to its first monthly gain of the year, following optimistic comments on U.S. trade talks from government envoy Ryosei Akazawa,
The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, was last marked 0.92% higher into the close of trading.
