S&P 500 futures were little changed on Wednesday as traders digested a deluge of earnings results and looked toward further reports from major technology companies. Futures tied to the broad market index inched down 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures also slipped 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 85 points, or 0.2%. Alphabet kicked off a major week for megacap tech earnings. The Google parent exceeded analysts’ expectations as the company saw strong quarterly revenue growth from its cloud business. Shares surged more than 5% in extended trading. Meanwhile, chipmaker AMD slid 8% in the premarket and pulled down the broader semiconductor sector, as its fourth-quarter revenue guidance failed to impress investors. Construction equipment stock Caterpillar weighed upon the Dow. Shares fell nearly 3% Wednesday before the bell after the company missed on earnings in the third quarter and lowered its full-year revenue guidance. Tech titans Meta Platforms and Microsoft are set to report on Wednesday, while Apple and Amazon are due Thursday. On the economic front, the latest numbers pointed to a mixed backdrop. The U.S. economy grew at a slower-than-expected rate in the third quarter, according to gross domestic product figures for the third quarter. GDP rose at a 2.8% annualized rate, while economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 3.1%.However, payrolls data on Wednesday pointed to a stronger-than-expected labor market. According to the latest ADP report for October, private-job creation jumped to its highest level in more than a year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq netted a winning session on Tuesday. The Dow, lagged, however, falling slightly. “Growth-oriented stocks, like the NASDAQ 100, returned to leadership,” on Tuesday, Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management, said. “We are closely monitoring tech earnings releases to ensure businesses investment in artificial intelligence and other productivity enhancing tools remains robust to support strong future earnings growth.” The yield on the 10-year Treasury note hovered near a three-month high as traders combed through a fresh batch of mixed data and hunted for further clues on the rate cut outlook. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down about 1 basis point at 4.26%, after briefly rising above 4.3% in the previous session to notch its highest level since July. The yield on the 2-year Treasury rose more than 2 basis points to 4.146%. Oil prices held steady near one-month lows on Wednesday, after sliding in the previous two sessions, as markets weighed a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and rising OPEC+ crude supplies against a possible drop in U.S. fuel stocks and demand concerns. Brent crude futures gained 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $71.50 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged up 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $67.56 per barrel. Gold hit a lifetime high on Wednesday on safe-haven demand ahead of the U.S. presidential election, while investor focus is also on U.S. economic data for clues on the rate cut outlook. Spot gold was up 0.3% to $2,783.38 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $2,789.73 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures rose 0.5% to $2,795.90. “Gold is very much being anchored on the U.S. election outcome. In the near term, spot gold will face resistance at $2,800, then followed by $2,826,” said Kelvin Wong, OANDA’s senior market analyst for Asia Pacific.
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