Stock Futures Point Higher After Volatile Session; US Government Shutdown Reaches Third Week

Stock futures pointed higher Wednesday, a day after a tumultuous session that saw major indexes close mostly lower on U.S.-China trade tensions. 

Futures associated with the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.9%, 0.7%, and 0.5%, respectively. Yesterday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 closed down 0.8% and 0.2%, respectively, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.4% higher.

Indexes were volatile Tuesday, with the S&P 500 turning lower in the last half hour of trading after President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social network that “I believe that China purposefully not buying our Soybeans, and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers, is an Economically Hostile Act. We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution.” Aiding indexes was a suggestion by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that he and other Fed officials would be willing to cut the central bank’s key interest rate in the coming months to boost the job market.

Wednesday marks the start of the third week of the U.S. government shutdown. Although the Fed is set to release its Beige Book economic update, the Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to release on Oct. 24 the Consumer Price Index inflation report for September that originally was scheduled for today.

Gold futures hit $4,200 an ounce for the first time Wednesday, rising 1% in recent trading to just over that threshold. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures ticked higher to $58.85 a barrel. Bitcoin was at roughly $111,600, down from from an overnight high of $113,600.

The 10-year Treasury yield ticked lower to 4.01%. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.2% to 98.90.

In corporate news, Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) shares rose 4% each in premarket trading after they reported third-quarter results above expectation. Yesterday, their rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Wells Fargo (WFC) kicked off Q3 bank earnings season, with all four topping analysts’ estimates.

Shares of ASML Holding (ASML) surged 4.5% after the Dutch chipmaking-equipment firm reported better-than-expected third-quarter bookings and profit amid robust AI demand. The news helped shares of chipmakers Wednesday, with Nvidia (NVDA) rising 2.7% before the bell after leading Dow decliners yesterday with a 4.4% drop. Intel (INTC), Broadcom (AVGO), and ON Semiconductor (ON) all rose roughly 2% as well.

Also, Stellantis (STLA) stock ticked higher after the Jeep and Chrysler parent said it planned to invest $13 billion over four years to boost its U.S. manufacturing efforts, and shares of Walmart (WMT), which led the Dow with a 5% advance yesterday after the world’s biggest retailer said it was partnering with ChatGPT parent OpenAI on “AI-first shopping experiences,” were up slightly before the bell.