U.S. stock futures wavered Wednesday as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average tried to rebound from a two-day slide. Futures tied to the 30-stock Dow rose 41 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures each added 0.2%. Cloud company Box was a notable loser in early trading, tumbling more than 12% after reporting third-quarter results that came in below analyst expectations. MongoDB slipped more than 5% even as the company beat analysts’ estimates. On the other hand, homebuilder stock Toll Brothers gained nearly 2% after exceeding expectations on the top and bottom lines. The moves came after a trading session where both the Dow and the S&P 500 closed lower for the second day in a row, dropping 0.2% and 0.06%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% as technology shares outperformed. Despite these losses, the past five weeks of consecutive gains means that all three stock indexes are still on track to end the quarter and year notably higher. Looking past this rally, come the new year Wolfe Research chief investment strategist Chris Senyek sees disappointment ahead for investors. In his base case scenario, Senyek sees the S&P 500 dropping 8% by the end of 2024. “We think the lagged impacts of the Fed rate hikes are going to really start to hit the economy in the first half of next year,” he said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” As inflation falls, companies will lose their pricing power because they lose their ability to pass prices through the consumers, he said. Senyek also expects that higher risk aversion and slower earnings growth will put additional pressure on stocks next year. U.S. Treasury yields were higher on Wednesday as investors assessed the state of the economy after the release of labor market data. At 6:21 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up 3 basis points at 4.203%. It had fallen below the 4.2% mark for the first time since early September on Tuesday. The 2-year Treasury yield was last 4 basis points higher at 4.618%, making up for some losses after having fallen by as many as 7 basis points on Tuesday. Asia-Pacific markets rebounded across the region, led by Japan’s markets and following a broad sell-off on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 popped 2.04% and closed at 33,445.9, leading gains among major Asian indexes, while the Topix advanced 1.9% and ended the day at 2,387.2. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.65%, closing at 7,178.4 and at its highest level since September 19. The country’s economy expanded 2.1% year-on-year in the third quarter, beating expectations from economists polled by Reuters. South Korea’s Kospi inched up marginally to 2,495.38, while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.76% and finish at 819.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rebounded from a one-year low to climb 0.81% in its final hour of trade, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 index posted a 0.16% gain and closed at 3,399.59, after hitting fresh four-year lows on Tuesday. Oil prices fell Wednesday, as investors weighed the effectiveness of an extension in OPEC+ cuts in tightening supply against a worsening demand outlook in China. Brent crude futures fell 80 cents, or 1%, to $76.40 a barrel. U.S. WTI crude futures fell by 81 cents, or 1.1%, to $71.54 a barrel. Gold prices inched higher on Wednesday buoyed by lower bond yields, while investors awaited for a crucial U.S. employment report that could set the tone for Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,022.39 per ounce by 1038 GMT. U.S. gold futures also gained 0.2% to $2,039.90.
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