US stocks edged higher at the open of Wednesday’s session before giving up gains, continuing a slow start into the week as investors review new economic data and await comment from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The S&P 500 Index (^GSPC) inched 0.1% lower in early trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) down 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) increased by 0.3%.
share lower end on Tuesday, even as concerns about China’s strict no-COVID policy have eased. U.S.-listed Chinese stocks rose on Tuesday as Beijing announced plans to accelerate vaccinations for China’s elderly, boosting investor optimism about the way forward to easing. COVID restrictions amid nationwide protests.
The US dollar was weaker early Wednesday, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.733% from 3.755% on Tuesday. In the oil market, the global benchmark Brent crude oil price (BZ=F) increased 2.3% to 82.90 USD/barrel. WTI Crude Oil (CL=F) rose 2.6% on Wednesday to $80.25 a barrel.
For investors, however, all eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech Wednesday afternoon at the Brookings Institution, the final speech before the rate-setting meeting Fed’s next mid-December. But “investors are wavering between preparing for a Jackson Hole repeat and seeing Powell reiterate views from the other recent Fedspeak,” said Andrew Tyler, head of US Market Intelligence at JP Morgan, writes.
As the Fed tries to meet the dual mandate of price stability and maximum decent employment, it is expected that Powell will signal that the Fed is on track to slightly ease the pace of monetary policy tightening, potentially will drop to a 50-base-point gain.
The keynote also comes less than two weeks before November’s consumer price data is released.
“All eyes will continue to be on inflation at this point,” said Anthony Saccaro, Providence Insurance & Financial Services President. Yahoo Finance Direct on Tuesday.
Ahead of Powell’s scheduled speech on Wednesday, US Secretary Janet Yellen weighed in on the Fed’s capacity as an institution saying they are “qualified people trying to make judgments.” their best guess.”
Meanwhile, investors are watching for another wave of macroeconomic data. On Wednesday, the ADP jobs report showed that private companies added 127,000 jobs for November. below expectation about 200,000.
“Tips in the labor market are difficult to grasp, but our data shows that policy tightening by the Federal Reserve is having an impact on job creation and wage growth,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP said in a statement. “Also, companies are no longer in super-alternative mode. Fewer and fewer people are giving up and the post-pandemic recovery is stabilizing.”
Additionally, US GDP in the third quarter of 2022 grew at an annualized rate of 2.9%, according to government estimates. The report also shows that Personal Consumption Spending (PCE) index, which measures the prices of consumer goods and services, rose 4.3% in the quarter, revised up 0.1 percentage points. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index rose 4.6%, also revised up 0.1 percentage points.
This data will be followed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) survey; Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI); pending home sale; and the Fed’s Beige Book.
On the earnings front, Salesforce (CRM), the year below (FIVE), Okta, Inc. (OKTA), Snowflakes (SNOW) and Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) is set to report earnings on Wednesday.
In premarket trading, shares of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD) fell more than 18% after the cybersecurity company quarter forecast Revenue fell short of analysts’ expectations as customers cut spending and delayed purchases due to macroeconomic difficulties. DoorDash (DASH) is laying off about 1,250 people in an effort to cut costs, According to a report from Bloombergcited a memo from CEO Tony Xu.
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Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniroromerotv
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