Wall Street opens higher, following global shares up
Stocks are opening slightly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, with the S&P 500 on track to extend its streak of gains for a fourth day
NEW YORK — Stocks are opening slightly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, with the S&P 500 on track to extend its streak of gains for a fourth day. The benchmark index is up 0.5% at the open, while the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are also up 0.8% and 0.3% respectively. Shares in Google parent Alphabet are up more than 9% after it said its digital ad business propelled a 36% jump in profit last quarter. Marathon Petroleum and other energy stocks are up ahead of a decision by major oil-producing countries on production levels, expected later today. U.S. Treasury yields are down.
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U.S. futures followed global stocks higher Wednesday as markets try to bounce back from a January slide.
In New York, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.9% while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%.
In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.9%, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.4% and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.5%.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 0.7%, boosted by gains for energy and tech stocks in a late burst of buying. The Dow rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.7%.
U.S. stocks are coming off their worst month since early in the pandemic nearly two years ago and the Nasdaq was hit hardest, falling more than 8% over the past month.
Volatility among companies in the Nasdaq composite continued Wednesday.
Shares of Alphabet Inc. rose more than 10% before the opening bell after the company reported soaring profits late Tuesday and its first stock split since 2014. On the other side is PayPal, down 17% Wednesday and heading for its worst trading day since it split from eBay in 2015 after a weak quarter and subdued guidance.
Investors are trying to figure out how the economy and corporate profits will be affected by upcoming Federal Reserve rate hikes, intended to cool inflation that has surged to a four-decade high.
Fed officials said in mid-December that plans to wind down bond purchases and other stimulus that are boosting prices would be accelerated to cool inflation.
Consumers have kept spending despite price rises, but forecasters worry retail purchases might weaken, crimping economic growth.
Investors expect the Fed to hike rates at least four times this year, starting in March.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 1.7% and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 advanced 1.2%. China was closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
India’s Sensex advanced 1.2% while New Zealand’s benchmark gained 1.4% after the government reported record-low unemployment of 3.2% in the final quarter of 2021. Jakarta also advanced.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude fell 9 cents to $88.11 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 5 cents on Tuesday to $88.20. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, declined 27 cents to $88.89 per barrel in London. It fell 10 cents the previous session to $89.16.
The dollar dipped to 114.27 yen from Tuesday’s 114.71 yen. The euro rose to $1.1323 from $1.1254.
