U.S. stock futures soared on Wednesday, with investors awaiting further testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and economic data on the pace of recovery.
Futures contracts linked to the S&P 500 index and the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%. Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.7%, suggesting that tech stocks could rebound after falling lower on Tuesday.
Markets faltered this week as investors reflected on signs that the global economic recovery may take longer than anticipated because of the increase in Covid-19 cases and prolonged blockages in many countries. Money managers are also evaluating the valuable valuations of stocks after the major indexes have risen more than 70% since the pandemic-driven defeat last March.
“We are now on a high year: we have seen a massive decline and a massive rise, and my impression is that the markets will stop to breathe from here,” said Brian O’Reilly, head of market strategy at Mediolanum International Funds. “It will be much more difficult to make gains for the rest of the year.”
Despite Powell’s comments that the Fed will continue to support the economy until the recovery is more robust, money managers are also betting that inflation will rise dramatically and may encourage the central bank to raise interest rates or reduce purchases of cash. titles.