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U.S. equity futures bumped higher Wednesday, following on from a record high close for the Nasdaq, as stronger-than-expected earnings from Alphabet added another boost for tech stocks and investors looked to some key economic data over the coming days.
Stocks closed higher last night, with the Nasdaq scaling a fresh record peak and the S&P 500 rising around 0.16%, as stocks powered past the extended surge in Treasury bond yields thanks in part to solid gains from megacap heavyweights Nvidia (NVDA) , Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) .
Treasury yields, while still expressing concern for a resurgence inflation and higher debt and deficits under both presidential candidates, pared some of their advance yesterday following a solid 7-year auction and labor market data showing a big decline in open positions for the month of September.
Facebook parent Meta, the market’s hottest megacap tech stock outside of Nvidia, will post third quarter earnings after the close of trading.
Benchmark 10-year note yields were last marked at 4.228% in the overnight session, with 2-year notes pegged at 4.091%. ahead of payroll processing group ADP’s October National Employment report and the first look at third quarter GDP growth from the Commerce Department.
On Wall Street, focus is likely to remain firmly on the day’s busy earnings slate, which includes drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY) and industrial bellwether Caterpillar (CAT) prior to the start of trading, with Magnificent 7 cohorts Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) after the closing bell.
Futures contacts tied to the S&P 500, which is now up 1.22% for the month, are priced for a modest 14 point opening bell gain with the Dow Jones Industrial Average called 25 points higher.
The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is indicated 44 points higher thanks in part to a 5.5% premarket gain for Alphabet.
Related: Alphabet stock leaps as Google parent crushes Q3 earnings
The Google parent posted stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings last night, including a stunning 35% revenue gain for its cloud division that justified its ongoing rise in broader AI spending.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares, however, slumped 8.5% after the AI chipmaker issued a fourth quarter revenue forecast that met investors’ forecasts but failed to ignite new enthusiasm for the stock.
More Wall Street Analysts:
Analysts update Meta stock price target with Q3 earnings in focusAnalysts update outlook for Nvidia’s Blackwell chips amid AI boomAnalyst reboots Reddit stock price target ahead of earnings
In overseas markets, Europe’s Stoxx 600 fell 0.8% in early Frankfurt trading to the lowest level in a month following a disappointing slate of corporate earnings that clouded some positive economic data from Germany.
Britain’s FTSE 100, meanwhile, slipped 0.2% ahead of the first budget statement from a Labour government in more than 15 years later this afternoon in London that is expected to include major tax increases and a brake on public spending.
Overnight in Asia, the Nikkei 225 closed at a two-week high thanks in part to a weaker yen and stronger tech stocks, while the regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark was marked 0.73% lower heading into the close of trading.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
