U.S. stocks were poised for a mixed start, with technology stocks set to gain, but slight losses elsewhere, a day after a positive session on Wall Street driven in part by strong October retail sales data.
How are stock-index futures trading?
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
What’s driving markets?
Stocks climbed on Tuesday as investors welcomed better-than-expected October retail sales data and a batch of corporate earnings.
Data showed retail sales jumped 1.7% , beyond forecasts for a 1.5% rise and the biggest gain since March when households received billions in federal stimulus money. Investors also got upbeat results from retailers like Walmart WMT,
Stocks were set to pause though, after Tuesday’s run in the last full week of trading before Thanksgiving holidays.
“While investors are not reversing course from the stock market, rotation in our opinion is to blame for the uneven market performances,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital, in a note to clients.
Shares of Walmart rival Target TGT,
Shares of Lowe’s LOW,
Wednesday’s U.S. economic calendar will feature building permits and housing starts for October at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. And a packed schedule of appearances by Federal Reserve is ahead, with that list including New York Fed President John Williams, Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman, San Francisco President Mary Daly and Fed President Charles Evans.
Oil prices were falling as investors awaited inventory data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday. Oil has also been pressured by fears of possible joint selling of oil reserves by both China and the U.S., following a virtual meeting between President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping.
The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday that U.S. crude supplies rose by 655,000 barrels for the week ended Nov. 12, according to sources. West Texas Intermediate crude CL00,