Fitz-Gerald Group director Keith Fitz-Gerald and Gibbs Wealth Management president Erin Gibbs discuss the situation in today’s markets.
US stock futures are being traded cautiously, looking for direction.
The main future exchange rates suggest a 0.1% gain in the opening bell.
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Stocks fell on Wednesday, with investors pondering the possibility that inflation could lead central banks to adjust their ultra-low interest rate policies, despite guarantees from the Federal Reserve chairman.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Tuesday that the Fed saw no need to change its policy of maintaining ultra-low interest rates, noting that the economic recovery “remains uneven and far from complete”.
FED’S POWELL SAYS THE ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE STILL ‘HIGHLY UNCERTAINTED’ BUT THE WIDEST VACCINE ROLL KEY
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, investors have pushed Big Tech’s stock prices to stratospheric heights, betting that quarantined consumers would do most of their shopping online and spend more on entertainment devices and services.
The bet was worth it. But the pandemic may be reaching its final stages, with millions of vaccines being administered each week in the United States and around the world now. It can get consumers back to pre-pandemic habits.
In Europe, London’s FTSE added 0.1%, Germany’s DAX added 0.8% and France’s CAC was gaining 0.3%.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.6%, Hong Kong led the decline, losing 3%, and China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 2%.
The Hong Kong government announced $ 15.4 billion pandemic relief measures to help the territory recover from the coup for its economy, which contracted 6.1% last year.
Regarding profits, a handful of retailers will release quarterly numbers on Wednesday; Lowe’s, TJX Companies and Overstock.com are ahead of the opening bell, with Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands posting after the closing. On the media side, we will have news from the Sinclair Broadcast Group in the morning and ViacomCBS in the afternoon.
In the economic calendar, the Census Bureau is to say that sales of new single-family homes increased by 2.1% in January, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 855,000.
HOUSE PRICES SCALE AT THE FASTEST PACE IN 7 YEARS
A late afternoon shopping spree on Wall Street on Tuesday helped to reverse most of the technology-focused sales, pushing the S&P 500 to its first win after a five-day losing streak.
The benchmark index registered a gain of 0.1%, to 3,881.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.1% to 31,537.35. The Nasdaq lost 0.5% to 13,465.20. The indices had been at their peak for less than two weeks.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 31537.35 | +15.66 | + 0.05% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3881.37 | +4.87 | + 0.13% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 13465.198124 | -67.85 | -0.50% |
More broadly, investors remain focused on the future of the global economies hard hit by COVID-19 and the potential for further stimulus to fix them. The United States House of Representatives is expected to vote on the stimulus package proposed by President Biden by the end of the week. This would include checks for $ 1,400 for most Americans, additional payments for children and billions of dollars in aid to state and local governments, as well as additional aid to companies affected by the pandemic.
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In other trades, the US benchmark crude added 28 cents at $ 61.95 a barrel in electronic trades on the New York Mercantile Exchange. He lost 3 cents on Tuesday to $ 61.67 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 38 cents to $ 65.75 a barrel.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.