Stock futures edged lower in Wednesday’s overnight trading after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded from its lowest level of the year.
Dow Jones futures were down 49 points, or 0.16%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.19% and 0.26% respectively.
Last night’s move followed a broad rally in equities as the Bank of England announced it would buy bonds to help stabilize financial markets and help the British pound plummet. The pound has stooped to record lows against the US dollar in recent days.
This marks a clear change from the aggressive tightening campaigns many global central banks have been conducting to combat sharp inflation.
In normal trading on Wednesday, the Dow rose 548.75 points (1.88%) to 29,683.74 and the S&P 500 rose 1.97% to 3,719.04. Both indices have fallen for six straight days. The Nasdaq Composite rose his 2.05% to close at 11,051.64.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell to their lowest level since 2020 after briefly surpassing 4% as stocks rose and the BOE shared bond-buying plans.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the market showed a negative rather than a positive sign today,” said Liz Ann Saunders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. You can try to point out what’s behind it, but it’s just a parlor game, and a lot of it happens when the market is really oversold and buyers step in. That’s it.”
Wednesday’s gains put the leading averages on pace to make small gains for the week, but they are still on track to close out their worst month since June. The Dow and S&P are on pace to close down 5.8% and 5.9%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite leads the monthly losses, down about 6.5%.
On a quarterly basis, the Nasdaq is on track to break two consecutive quarters of declines, while the Dow is headed for its first three consecutive quarters of losses since the third quarter of 2015. The S&P is on pace for his third minus. He ended the first quarter of 2009 with his fourth consecutive negative quarter for the first time since six consecutive negative quarters.
Earnings continued on Thursday with performances from Nike, Bed Bath & Beyond and Micron Technology. The first unemployment claims and more speeches from the Federal Reserve are also due.
