As oil jumped and investors continued to discuss the implications of the new jobs data for Federal Reserve policy and the US economy, US stock futures increased on Wednesday, ready to reverse a series of recent declines.
Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) increased by 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. Following a mixed session for US stocks on Tuesday, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) gained 0.2%.
The US is reportedly preparing more sanctions on Russia if it rejects a peace deal for Ukraine, while President Trump's move to embargo sanctioned tankers off Venezuela caused oil prices to rise by almost 2%.
While Brent (BZ=F) traded slightly below $60, West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures rose to above $56 per barrel, recovering from the lowest level in nearly five years.
Wall Street is looking for a clear signal in a noisy November jobs report to determine a route for interest rates next year after weeks of a lack of data.
The data released on Tuesday revealed two surprises: the highest unemployment rate since 2021 and a higher number of jobs added last month than anticipated.
However, following a record-long government shutdown that interfered with federal data collecting and releases, analysts cautioned that there might be a significant margin of error in the print. On Wednesday morning, markets were pricing in 22% odds of a January rate cut, a small decrease from the previous day.
John Williams of the New York Fed and Fed governor Chris Waller are scheduled to make separate appearances on Wednesday, which may provide hints about the future.
As the president gets closer to selecting his successor for Chair Jerome Powell, Waller is allegedly interviewing with Trump on Wednesday.
Wall Street is eagerly anticipating Thursday's announcement on consumer inflation in November. Powell also highlighted the importance of the Consumer Price Index as influencing the Fed's rate decision next month.
At the same time, concerns about the AI trade continue to drive investors' interest in tech companies. Even if the US semiconductor manufacturer benefits from the memory chip squeeze, Micron Technology's (MU) quarterly results, which are coming after the bell on Wednesday, are receiving more attention as those concerns spread throughout the industry.
In recent sessions, Tesla (TSLA) has improved the atmosphere among IT workers. As investor excitement over its robotaxi aspirations grew, it achieved its first record close in roughly a year on Tuesday.
In other corporate news, Netflix's (NFLX) stock increased after the board of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) urged shareholders to reject a competing offer from Paramount Skydance (PSKY), raising concerns over funding guarantees.
