Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, August 4, 2022.
Source: NYSE
Stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading on Wednesday as the market nears the end of the second quarter and first half of 2023 with solid gains.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 72 points. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.3%.
micron technology Shares rose 2% in extended trading after the chipmaker posted higher-than-expected revenue for its latest quarter, citing stronger industry demand. JPMorgan and Bank of America both gained more than 1% in after-hours trading as the country’s top lenders passed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test.
The stock market approaches the end of the first half of 2023 with a strong performance. He S&P 500 is up 14% this year, while technology Nasdaq Composite It’s up nearly 30%, heading for its best first half since 1983, as rising optimism around artificial intelligence boosted a host of tech names and chipmakers. the blue chip Dow is the relative underperformer, up just 2% this year. Many on Wall Street expect a volatile second half.
“The Fed, the data and the AI story have to go right for stocks to rise as the S&P 500 is already priced for a near-perfect landing, while anything that goes wrong could lead to a recession.” , Jason Draho, head of Americas asset allocation at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a note.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed near the flatline as investors digested Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s latest comments on the tightening cycle. Speaking at a forum sponsored by the European Central Bank, Powell said that tighter policy is yet to come as the Fed continues to fight inflation. This includes the prospect of interest rate hikes in back-to-back meetings.
Investors will follow more of his comments on Thursday, as Powell is scheduled to speak at a conference in Madrid, where he will have a discussion with Bank of Spain Governor Pablo Hernández de Cos. The event will take place at 2:30 am ET.
Traders will also watch the weekly jobless claims data on Thursday morning to gauge the health of the labor market.
For the month of June, the S&P 500 rose 4.7%, on pace for its best monthly performance since January. In the second quarter, the benchmark equity index has gained 6.5%, on track for its third consecutive positive quarter.
