By U.S. stock indexes were drifting higher, with the S&P 500 nearing an all-time high after five straight days of gains, as investors parsed third-quarter earnings with the electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
+0.13%,
due to report after the market closes.
How are stock futures trading?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.37%
was trading 32 points, or 0.1%, higher at 35,490.
The S&P 500
SPX,
+0.36%
was climbing 8 points, or 0.2%, at 4,527, with its Sept. 2 closing high at 4,536.95 in sight.
The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.20%
added 21 points, or 0.1%, to around 15,150.
On Tuesday, the Dow rose 199 points, or 0.56%, to 35457, the S&P 500 increased 33 points, or 0.74%, to 4520, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 107 points, or 0.71%, to 15129.
What’s driving the market?
After five straight days of gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 sits 0.38% off its all-time high reached Sept. 2 at 4,536.95.
Investors have been pushing markets higher on positive corporate earnings thus far, while juggling concerns about supply-chain disruptions, and potential hits to profit margins aren’t far off.
Fundstrat Global Advisors lifted its end-year S&P 500 forecast to 4,800 from 4,700. In a note to clients, strategists led by founder Tom Lee said they see a “strong risk-on environment” as under way, helped by a typically strong year-end seasonal pattern that follows October.
A busy earnings reporting schedule is ahead, with electric-car maker Tesla
TSLA,
+0.13%
due to report after Wednesday’s close, while biotech Biogen
BIIB,
+0.70%,
medical devices and healthcare group Abbott Laboratories
ABT,
+3.63%,
oil-field services group Baker Hughes
BKR,
-4.47%
and telecommunications group Verizon Communications
VZ,
+2.02%
are among the names reporting Wednesday.
Technology stocks looked set to come under some pressure though as the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury
TMUBMUSD10Y,
1.639%
hovered around a five-month high at 1.6409%. Yields climbed on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said the central bank should begin tapering its monthly purchases of $120 billion in Treasurys and mortgage-related assets starting next month.
The Fed’s Beige Book of economic conditions due at 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday will be one to watch, said Saxo Bank’s chief investment officer Steen Jakobsen. In a note to clients, he said investors should pay special attention to what the report says “about demand relative to the available supply of labor and parts, as well as the status of supply chains and logistics.”
Which companies are in focus?
Shares of Netflix Inc.
NFLX,
-0.86%
were trading 2% lower after the streaming-video company reported a bounce in third-quarter revenue and subscriber numbers, but a slightly disappointing fourth-quarter forecast.
Shares of Novavax Inc.
NVAX,
-13.80%
slid 17% early Wednesday. Citing sources, Politico reported Tuesday that the biotech group is facing big hurdles in proving it can produce a COVID vaccine that is up to regulatory standards.
How are other assets faring?
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y was flat at1.63%, near its highest since mid May. Yields and debt prices move in opposite directions.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.02%, a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, was virtually unchanged.
Oil futures retreated, with the U.S. benchmark CL00 down 1% at $81.66 a barrel. Gold futures GC00 trade higher, rising 0.8% at $1,783.90 an ounce.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP traded 0.2% higher, while London’s FTSE 100 UKX retreated 0.2%.
The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP closed down 0.2%, while the Hang Seng Index HSI gained 1.4% in Hong Kong. Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK inched up 0.1%.
