STOCK NEWS: Nasdaq leads rally, Ford sales rise, OPEC decision affects oil
US stock futures traded higher on Wednesday morning, after losses in the previous session as political tensions were in focus over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
The major futures indices suggest a gain of 0.2% when trading begins.
Beijing announced a ban on imports of some Taiwanese goods, but no immediate major penalties after the arrival of Pelosi.
Oil prices traded lower on Wednesday morning ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ producers on fears that a slowdown in global growth will hit fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading around $93.00 a barrel. Brent oil futures were around $99.00 a barrel.
PayPal shares rise 10% in premarket trading. The online payments company has entered into an information sharing agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management to evaluate capital return options.
PayPal reported net income of $6.8 billion, up 9% year over year in the second quarter and a net loss of $341[ads1] million, or 29 cents per diluted share. Last year, the company recorded net income of $1.18 billion, or $1.00 per diluted share.
Airbnb shares fell more than 7% in premarket trading after the company gave a weaker-than-expected outlook that overshadowed otherwise strong results.
Another busy day is in store for earnings, with a major focus on healthcare. We’ll hear from CVS Health, AmerisourceBergen, Moderna and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals before the opening bell. Also look for hotel and casino gaming MGM Resorts, online auctioneer Ebay and household products maker Clorox to name a few.
On the economic calendar, traders will look for data on the services sector and manufacturing orders.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7%, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 0.5% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.4%.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.7 percent on Tuesday after the Labor Department said U.S. employers posted fewer job openings than expected in June after raising interest rates to cool rising inflation.
The S&P 500 fell to 4,091.19. It is down almost 1% this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.2% to 32,396.17. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.2% to 12,348.76.
