U.S. stock index futures are indicating a slightly higher start to Wednesday’s session, pointing to potential gains after markets ended the previous day with mixed results.
Energy shares are expected to be among the early leaders, as crude oil prices have staged a strong recovery from their lowest levels since early 2021. The rebound follows President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers operating to and from Venezuela.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the government of President Nicolas Maduro as a foreign terrorist organization and announced a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” entering and leaving Venezuela.
Despite the positive signal from energy markets, overall trading volumes could remain subdued, with investors reluctant to take large positions ahead of Thursday’s release of the highly anticipated U.S. consumer price inflation report.
The November inflation data from the Labor Department is expected to play a key role in shaping expectations for future Federal Reserve interest rate decisions.
Markets struggled for direction on Tuesday, extending the choppy trading pattern seen earlier in the week. Major indexes moved back and forth throughout the session before closing with mixed outcomes.
The Nasdaq Composite rose by 54.05 points, or 0.2%, finishing at 23,111.46. In contrast, the S&P 500 slipped 16.25 points, or 0.2%, to 6,800.26, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 302.30 points, or 0.6%, to 48,114.26.
The uneven performance followed the release of November employment figures from the Labor Department. Although the data showed stronger-than-expected job creation, it came after a sharp decline in employment during October.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 in November, reversing part of the 105,000-job drop recorded in October. Economists had anticipated an increase of around 50,000 jobs.
At the same time, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September, exceeding forecasts of 4.5%. This marked the highest unemployment reading since September 2021, when the rate reached 4.7%.
Many economists believe the data strengthens the case for continued interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the near term, while also raising concerns about the broader economic outlook.
“Although the market generally cheers rate cuts, if the Fed is forced to cut rates more aggressively next year because we are headed into a recession, the stock market will drop instead,” said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.
Additional economic data from the Commerce Department showed U.S. retail sales were largely flat in October.
Retail sales were essentially unchanged in October after a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in September. Economists had expected a 0.2% gain.
Excluding automobiles, however, retail sales rose by 0.4% in October following a 0.1% increase the previous month, beating expectations for a 0.3% rise.
Sector performance was mixed during Tuesday’s session. Energy stocks suffered sharp losses earlier in the day as crude prices plunged to their lowest levels since early 2021, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index dropping 4.2% and the NYSE Arca Oil Index falling 3.6%.
Pharmaceutical, healthcare and networking stocks also posted notable declines, while computer hardware shares managed to claw back some recent losses.
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