Stock futures rose Wednesday morning after an encouraging report on wholesale inflation as earnings reports from banks and other major companies continued to stream in.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were recently up 0.4%, while those linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq added 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. Stocks are coming off a mixed performance on Tuesday, when the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched higher to a record close for the second straight day as chip stocks rallied, while the other two major indexes lost ground amid a downturn in financial services stocks after the first batch of earnings reports from big banks.
Data on producer prices released this morning showed that wholesale inflation in June rose less than economists had expected, after a separate report on Tuesday showed that consumer prices had risen more than anticipated last month. The CPI report dashed market hopes that the Federal Reserve could be in a position to cut interest rates this month, but the wholesale numbers today are an encouraging sign that price pressures aren’t intensifying. The Fed has said that it is waiting for more data to assess how tariffs are affecting the economy before adjusting its benchmark rate.
Banks releasing quarterly results this morning were on the move in premarket trading. Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS) and PNC Financial Services (PNC) were each up more than 1%, while Morgan Stanley (MS) fell more than 1%.
Among other noteworthy post-earnings movers, shares of Dow component Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) were up 2% after the medical device and drug maker reported better-than-expected results and raised its outlook. ASML Holding (ASML) shares tumbled 8% after the Dutch semiconductor-gear manufacturer said it couldn’t guarantee growth in 2026 amid uncertainty about the impact of tariffs.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies were mixed before the opening bell. Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) rose slightly, while Microsoft (MSFT) and Broadcom (AVGO) were flat, and Amazon (AMZN) edged lower.
Crypto-related stocks, including major bitcoin buyer Strategy (MSTR) and crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN), were moving higher as the price of bitcoin surged after legislators vowed to move cryptocurrency legislation forward. Bitcoin was at $119,000 recently, after dropping below $116,000 during yesterday’s session. Bitcoin has hit a series of records over the past week, rising as high as $123,000 early Monday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on a wide range of consumer and business loans, was at 4.46% recently, down from yesterday’s close of 4.49%, which was its highest level since early June. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, slipped 0.1% to 98.55, hovering near its highest level in a month.
Gold futures were up 0.2% at $3,340 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, slipped 1% to $65.90 per barrel.
