Bargain hunters may flock to the market on Wednesday following three consecutive sessions of losses. While the absence of major catalysts could lead to indecision among traders, the upward momentum remains intact despite recent weakness. So far this quarter, the S&P 500 Index has gained a little over 9%, trading just shy of its all-time high.
According to fund manager Louis Navellier, the anticipated Fed cuts alongside earnings momentum will determine whether we have already witnessed most of this year’s gains or if it marks the beginning of a robust year ahead.
Review of Previous Session:
Stocks experienced a last-hour sell-off on Tuesday after maintaining levels above the unchanged line for the majority of the session. Notable economic data includes durable goods orders rebounding slightly more than expected in February, while consumer confidence for March remained steady compared to the previous month.
The session saw a majority of S&P sectors (9 out of 11) closing lower, with utility, energy, and IT stocks experiencing notable weakness.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.42% | 16,315.70 |
| S&P 500 Index | -0.28% | 5,203.58 |
| Dow Industrials | -0.08% | 39,282.33 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.19% | 2,070.16 |
Insights From Analysts:
With just two trading sessions to go for the quarter to end, the S&P 500 Index appears on track to finish higher for five months in a row and this according to Carson Group‘s Ryan Detrick bodes well for the future.
“Strong future returns after these streaks are actually quite normal. Higher a year later 26 out of 28 times (92.9%) and up 12.5% on avg,” he said.
Futures Performance On Wednesday ( as of 7 a.m. EDT)
| Futures | Performance (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | +0.58% |
| S&P 500 | +0.52% |
| Dow | +0.51% |
| R2K | +0.59% |
In premarket trading on Wednesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.45% to $521.14, and the Invesco QQQ ETF QQQ gained 0.54% to $445.72, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Upcoming Economic Data:
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum inventory report at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
The Treasury is set to auction seven-year notes at 1 p.m. EDT.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. EDT.
See Also: Best Futures Brokers
Stocks In Focus:
- GameStop Corp. GME plunged nearly 18.5% in premarket trading following its quarterly results announcement, while nCino, Inc. NCNO climbed over 12.50%.
- Cintas Corporation CTAS, Carnival Corporation & plc CCL, H.B. Fuller Company FUL, and RH RH are among the companies due to release their quarterly results on Wednesday.
- Robinhood Markets, Inc. HOOD rallied over 7% following the trading app’s first-ever keynote event in which it announced the launch of its first credit card, called Robinhood Gold, which will offer a suite of premium rewards.
- Merck & Co., Inc. MRK rose nearly 5% following FDA approval for sotatercept-csrk, which would be sold under the brand name WINREVAIR in the U.S., for the treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Commodities, Bonds, and Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures extended their slide and declined modestly early during the European session, while gold futures advanced. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury continued to be flattish.
Bitcoin BTC/USD slipped and traded below the $70,000 mark. While Asian stocks closed mixed, the European markets advanced in early trading. In Asia, the Japanese market rebounded on the yen’s weakness but China and Hong Kong fell sharply amid the release of some strong domestic economic data.
Read Next: Gold Mining Stocks Eye Best Month In A Year As ‘Golden Era’ For The Precious Metal Looms
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