Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Wednesday following the strong upward move seen in the previous session.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets after yesterday?s advance lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to record closing highs.
A mixed batch of earnings news from big-name companies such as Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT) and AT&T (T) may also contribute to choppy trading on Wall Street.
Shares of Boeing are moving higher in pre-market trading after the aerospace giant reported first quarter earnings that matched analyst estimates but pulled its full-year guidance due to uncertainty surrounding the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft.
Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines but is moving lower in pre-market trading.
Shares of AT&T are also seeing pre-market weakness after the telecom giant reported first quarter earnings that met estimates but weaker than expected revenues.
A light day on the U.S. economic front may also keep traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of reports on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders and first quarter GDP in the coming days.
Following the lackluster performance on Monday, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. With the upward move on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the session at record closing highs.
The major averages all ended the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 145.34 points or 0.6 percent to 26,656.39, the Nasdaq surged up 105.56 points or 1.3 percent to 8,120.82 and the S&P 500 jumped 25.71 points or 0.9 percent to 2,933.68.
The strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from a number of big-name companies, including Dow components United Technologies (UTX) and Coca-Cola (KO).
United Technologies and Coca-Cola both moved notably higher on the day after reporting better than expected first quarter results.
Shares of Twitter (TWTR) also saw significant strength after the social media giant reported better than expected first quarter earnings, revenue, and user growth.
Toy maker Hasbro (HAS) also moved sharply higher after unexpectedly turning a profit in the first quarter on better than expected revenues.
Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble (PG) and Verizon (VZ) both moved to the downside despite reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
Positive sentiment was also generated by a Commerce Department report showing new home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly jumped to their highest level in well over a year in the month of March.
The Commerce Department said new home sales surged up by 4.5 percent to an annual rate of 692,000 in March after soaring by 5.9 percent to a revised rate of 662,000 in February.
The continued increase surprised economists, who had expected new home sales to drop by 2.5 percent to a rate of 650,000 from the 667,000 originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected spike, new home sales reached their highest annual rate since hitting 712,000 in November of 2017.
Biotechnology stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 2.7 percent.
Bargain hunting contributed the strength in the biotech sector after the index ended Monday’s trading at its lowest closing level in well over three months.
Significant strength also emerged among healthcare stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent jump by the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index.
Software, retail and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable strength on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest on Wall Street.
