Stock futures are little changed Wednesday night after U.S. downgrade spurs a sell-off
Stock futures changed a little last Wednesday. Futures connected to S&P 500 increased by 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 0.1%. Shares of Chipmaker Qualcomm decreased by 7%. Doordash increased by 4.2%.
“Sometimes markets need to digest a torrent of gains and this coupled with a choppy seasonal backdrop, was poised for a pullback,” Quincy Krosby said.
Investors are eagerly anticipating the quarterly results of tech giants Apple and Amazon, which will be released after the market closes on Thursday. So far, the majority of companies in the S&P 500 have already reported their latest quarterly earnings, with an impressive 81% of them surpassing expectations, according to FactSet.
In terms of economic data, traders are closely monitoring weekly initial jobless claims and durable goods orders. However, the main event to watch out for is Friday’s July payrolls report.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index experienced a 0.6% decline at market open, with the tech sector leading the losses at 1.8%, followed by financial services down 1.4%. Interestingly, bank stocks were up 0.1% in early trading.
China’s service sector displayed robust growth in July, as indicated by the Caixin survey compiled by S&P Global. The service sector purchasing managers index rose to 54.1, slightly higher than June’s 53.9. This growth was driven by increased business activity across the sector and a significant rise in overall new business. Additionally, firms expanded their workforce for the sixth consecutive month.
In Australia, the trade surplus slipped to AU$11.3 billion in June, but it was still higher than the forecasted AU$11 billion. Exports declined by 2%, primarily due to a decrease in other mineral fuels, including liquefied natural gas, while imports fell by 4% due to a decline in non-industrial transport equipment.
Hong Kong experienced a contraction in business activity for the first time in 2023, according to private surveys from S&P Global. The purchasing managers index for July dropped to 49.4, in contrast to June’s expansionary figure of 50.3. Lower output was a result of decreased overall new orders, though the pace of contraction was mild, with new business from abroad and Mainland China still showing growth.
During Wednesday night, stock futures remained relatively stable after a sell-off in regular trading hours. S&P 500 futures had no change, Nasdaq 100 futures decreased by 0.03%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased by 24 points which is 0.04%.
- Published By Team Nation Press News
