U.S. stock futures rose Wednesday night after the Dow Jones Industrial Average registered its third straight losing session. Futures tied to the 30-stock Dow increased 98 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.4%. During Wednesday’s main trading session, the Dow slipped 0.1% to post a three-day negative streak. Meanwhile the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite inched up just 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Investors’ fears that the Federal Reserve may keep rates higher longer have weighed on stocks this week. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that policymakers will need more proof that inflation is moving toward the central bank’s 2% guideline before rates can come down. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic also told CNBC that he thinks just one cut might be in the cards. As a result, Wall Street has adjusted its expectations for rate reductions. Fed funds futures trading data now suggests a 58.5% likelihood of a cut at the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, down from about 70% last week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. In addition, companies added 184,000 workers in March, according to ADP. The result trounced Dow Jones’ estimate of 155,000 and spurred investors’ fears that rates may indeed stay higher longer. The 10-year Treasury note briefly topped 4.4% and touched a high for 2024. Yields edged higher Thursday. “There’s a lot of short-term volatility and nervousness in the bond market,” said Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist for Blue Chip Daily Trend Report. “I don’t think that the Fed really has any reason to cut rates. The economy is so strong and we still have not beaten inflation yet.” The 10-year Treasury yield was slightly higher on Thursday as investors closely monitored speeches from a host of Federal Reserve officials and awaited the release of key economic data. The benchmark rate edged higher, trading at 4.361%. The yield briefly climbed to 4.429% on Wednesday, notching a new high for the year, before paring gains. The 2-year Treasury note yield traded marginally higher at 4.685%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions. He also thinks the equity market is showing signs of a “bullish rotation,” or a diversification of growth beyond the megacap tech names that have powered the market rally since last fall. On the economic front, investors will be looking to initial jobless claims numbers for the week ending March 30. The U.S. trade deficit as of February will also be released Thursday morning. All eyes are on Friday for the release of March’s nonfarm payrolls. Asia-Pacific markets rebounded following a sell-off in the previous session, as investors digest comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Markets in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan are closed for a public holiday. South Korea’s Kospi soared 1.29% to end at 2,742 and lead gains in Asia, while the small cap Kosdaq was up 0.33% to 882.9. The Kospi was powered by expectations that heavyweight Samsung Electronics will post a near nine-fold increase in its first-quarter profit from a year earlier. Samsung shares climbed 1.43%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.81% and crossed the 40,000 mark during the session, although it later fell and ended at 39,773.14. The broad-based Topix rose 0.94% to end at 2,732. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.45% and closed at 7,817.3, after clocking losses for two days. Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Thursday on concerns of lower supply as major producers are keeping output cuts in place and on signs of stronger economic growth in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent futures for June rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $89.51 a barrel at 0037 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for May rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.59 a barrel. Both the June Brent contract and the May WTI contract have risen for the past four days and closed on Wednesday at the highest since the end of October. Gold prices hit a new record on Thursday, breaking above $2,300 per ounce, as recent comments from Federal Reserve officials cemented market expectations that U.S. interest rates are eventually headed lower. Spot gold was recently down 0.4% at $2,290.72 the ounce after earlier hitting an all-time high of $2,304.09. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $2,310.2.