Last Updated: 4:00PM EST
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Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the green as the S&P 500 approaches the 5,000 level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) gained 0.4%, 0.82%, and 1.04%, respectively.
Earlier today, the Atlanta Federal Reserve updated its latest GDPNow reading, which allows it to estimate GDP growth in real time. The “nowcast” becomes more accurate as more economic data is released throughout the quarter. Currently, it estimates that the economy will expand by about 3.4% in the first quarter.
This is lower than its previous estimate of 4.2%, which can be attributed to recent releases from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Institute for Supply Management.
In other news, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly Crude Oil Inventories report, which measures the weekly change in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil held by U.S. firms.
Compared to last week, inventories increased by 5.52 million barrels. For reference, economists were expecting an increase of 1.7 million barrels week-over-week. This means that demand was weaker than anticipated. Nevertheless, WTI gained $0.55 to settle at $73.86 per barrel.
First Published: 4:11AM EST
U.S. futures were muted on Wednesday early morning as investors weighed another batch of corporate results. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.02% at 3:31 a.m. EST, February 7, while the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) fell 0.05% and 0.01%, respectively.
Turning to key economic reports, the Consumer Credit Change data for December is slated to be released today. Economists expect total consumer credit in the U.S. to have increased by $16 billion in December 2023, compared to a $23.7 billion increase in the previous month.
On the corporate earnings front, investors are likely to keep a close watch on media and entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney (DIS) and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA), as they are slated to release quarterly results today. Additionally, CVS Health (CVS), PayPal (PYPL), Roblox (RBLX), and Uber (UBER) will be releasing results later today.
In major stock market news, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Fox (FOXA), and Disney’s ESPN have joined hands to launch a new sports streaming service later in 2024. Additionally, the stock of Snap (SNAP) dropped 32% in yesterday’s extended trade after the company reported weaker-than-expected revenues and offered weak guidance.
Meanwhile, oil prices trended higher at the time of writing, as worries about excess supply were alleviated by lower-than-expected U.S. inventory growth and a decrease in the projected output. The WTI crude oil futures hovered near $73.44 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European indices head for a muted open on Wednesday due to the uncertainty over the interest rate environment. Also, investors await the release of some key data, including the German Industrial Production and Italian Retail Sales report due today.
Asia-Pacific Markets End Mixed on Wednesday
Asia-Pacific indices ended today’s session on a mixed note as traders evaluated the corporate earnings reports and the economic and monetary policy outlook globally. Chinese indices posted gains for a second consecutive day, potentially driven by indications of increasing measures from Beijing aimed at bolstering the domestic equity market.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed 0.34% lower. Whereas, China’s Shenzhen Component Index and the Shanghai Composite ended up by 2.93% and 1.44%, respectively. At the same time, Japan’s Nikkei index ended down by 0.11%, while the Topix index climbed 0.42% higher.
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