U.S. stock futures ticked higher on Wednesday after a volatile session for equities on Tuesday.
Oil prices were up 3% as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Middle East supplies. However, the pace of gains slowed from past sessions after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. Navy would escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and pledged political risk insurance for maritime trade transiting the waterway.
Higher oil prices have stoked fears of stickier inflation, which could keep the Fed on hold longer and remove the rate-cut cushion markets have been leaning on all year. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), jumped to 23.96 on Wednesday, its highest level since November.
Investors on Wednesday will also be watching the ADP private payrolls report for February, along with quarterly results from Broadcom, Abercrombie & Fitch and Okta.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.08%, and the two-year bond was at 3.53%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 97.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.17% |
| S&P 500 | 0.32% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.36% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.45% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were slightly up in premarket trading on Wednesday. The SPY was up 0.23% at $681.90, while the QQQ rose 0.29% to $603.25.
Stocks In Focus
Broadcom
- Shares of Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) were up 0.4% before the bell on Wednesday. The chipmaker is due to report fiscal first-quarter results after markets close. Analysts expect earnings per share of $1.88 on revenues of $19.18 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
- Benzinga’s Edge Rankings place AVGO in strong Momentum and Quality rankings, with a favourable long-term price trend.
