S&P 500 Futures Up Slightly as Investors Await Fed Chair Powell’s Comments

U.S. stock index futures are edging higher early Tuesday as traders brace for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments on the state of the economy and the duration of the central bank’s interest hiking campaign.

At 06:14 GMT, the blue-chip Dow futures are trading 33491.00, up 40.00 or +0.12%. The benchmark S&P 500 futures are at 4060.50, up 8.00 or +0.20%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite is trading at 12357.50, up 34.00 or +0.28%.

Volatile Trade on Monday

Stocks finished mixed at the start of the week, with the Dow easing higher and the S&P 500 slightly better. The NASDAQ Composite led the way higher early in the session but gave back all those gains into the close.

The early session rally was driven by the news that Goldman Sachs had initiated coverage of Apple with a buy rating. The announcement lifted the iPhone maker and the broader market. Apple outperformed most of the session, while other mega-cap tech stocks such as Alphabet and Microsoft advanced slowly.

However, most of those earlier gains were lost following a slight rise in U.S. bond yields. Investors have been troubled by moves in the bond market after the 10-year Treasury yield recently topped a critical 4% threshold.

After Hours Mover:  WW International Shares Pop

WW International shares are jumping more than 10% in the overnight market.

The firm, also known as WeightWatchers, said it’s acquiring Sequence, a subscription telehealth platform focusing on chronic weight management, for a net purchase price of $106 million. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter of 2023.

Looking ahead to Tuesday …

On deck, Tuesday is congressional testimony from Fed Chair Powell. He is expected to explain where he sees the U.S. economy and where he expects interest rates to go from here.

On the data front, January Wholesale Inventories data is set to be released Tuesday after the opening bell. Investors expect the report to give insight into the consumer economy. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a decline of 0.4%, compared to a rise of 0.1% in the prior reading.

According to consensus estimates from Dow Jones, Consumer Credit data expected Tuesday afternoon is forecasted to show a rise of $22 billion in January. That would follow an $11.6 billion increase the prior month.