US futures rose on Wednesday as investors waited for more testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as well as economic data on the pace of recovery.
S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.4%. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.7%, suggesting technology stocks could recover some ground after falling on Tuesday.
Markets changed this week, as investors looked at the signs that the global economic recovery could take longer than expected due to rising Covid-19 cases and widespread bottlenecks in many countries. Money managers are also valuing rich stock valuations after major indices rose more than 70 percent since the pandemic-fueled turn last March.
“We are now a year away from this rally: we have seen a massive decline and a massive rally and my sense is that the markets will just take a break from here,” said Brian O’Reilly, head of market strategy for International Funds. Mediolanum. “Earnings will be much harder to get for the rest of the year.”
Despite Mr Powell’s comments that the Fed will continue to support the economy until the recovery is more robust, money managers are also betting that inflation will rise sharply and could stimulate the central bank to raise interest rates or withdraw bond purchases. .