It’s been a tough little patch for U.S. stocks, with the benchmark S&P 500 index falling for five of the last six sessions. It dropped 2.3% last week, its biggest weekly fall since the banking turmoil of March. Things look a little brighter this morning, with U.S. stock futures up slightly and European equities rising in the morning session. The Associated Press has the story:
Wall Street inches up before the bell ahead of inflation data
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
Wall Street inched higher early Wednesday as markets took in more corporate earnings while waiting for U.S. inflation updates later this week.
Futures for the Dow Jones industrials ticked up 0.1% before the bell, while futures for the benchmark S&P 500 rose a modest 0.2%.
Corporate earnings for the spring quarter have broadly come in better than forecasts, though expectations were somewhat modest. Markets are also anticipating the latest inflation data coming Thursday and Friday, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision on interest rates.
The Federal Reserve has hiked its main interest rate to the highest level in more than two decades in hopes of grinding down inflation. High rates work by slowing the entire economy bluntly, which has raised the risk of a recession.
In corporate news, Penn Entertainment jumped more than 18% in after-hours trading after the gaming company announced Tuesday that it was paying $1.5 billion for the exclusive rights to re-brand its sports-betting app with the ESPN name. Penn will operate ESPN Bet, which Disney-owned ESPN has agreed to promote across its online and broadcast platforms.
Shares in the ride-sharing app Lyft skidded more nearly 6% in premarket trading Wednesday, a swift turnaround overnight after the stock initially jumped on what seemed like a solid second-quarter earnings report. Investors were apparently put off by the company’s conservative outlook for the fourth quarter.
In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 added 0.9%, while Germany’s DAX jumped 0.8% and Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to finish at 32,204.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.4% to 7,338.00. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2% to 2,605.12. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 19,246.03, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.5% to 3,244.49.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 84 cents to $83.76 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 77 cents to $86.94 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar ticked up to 143.42 Japanese yen from 143.36 yen. The euro cost $1.0977, down from $1.0960.
On Tuesday, concerns the banking sector and recent economic data from China darkened the mood on Wall Street. The S&P 500 and the Dow each finished 0.4% lower and the Nasdaq fell 0.8%.
