Stock futures rose on Wednesday after earnings reports from two major bellwethers raised hopes that corporate earnings will be better than feared even with a possible recession on the horizon.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones industrial average added 340 points, or 1%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.8% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6%.
Nike shares surged 12% after beating the apparel maker Wall Street’s Expectations for Quarterly Earnings and Earnings. FedEx gained 4.7% despite revenue falling short of expectations. Package delivery giant Beat the consensus earnings per share rating per share.
By the end of 2022, all three major averages have posted their worst annual performance since 2008 and are on pace to snap a 3-year winning streak. By Tuesday’s close, the Dow was down 9.6%. For the month, it has fallen by around 5%. The S&P is down 19.82% for the year and more than 6% in December, while the Nasdaq is down 32.58% in 2022 and 8% this month.
Wednesday’s moves continued a day’s gains for stocks. The major indexes posted four straight days of losses, putting some wind back into hopes for a year-end rally.
The modest gains came after the Bank of Japan moved to widen its range in 10-year Japanese government bond yields, leading to a rise in 10-year U.S. Treasury yields, which initially confused traders.
There are a few more big names to report earnings before the Christmas break, with Micron reporting after hours.
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