Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a higher opening on Wednesday as concerns over trade tensions eased and investors awaited fresh cues from the Federal Reserve on the future path of interest rate hikes.
The S&P 500 futures rose 7 points or 0.28% to 2,691.0 as of 6:40 AM ET (11:40 GMT) while Dow futures rallied 80 points, or 0.32%, to 24,822.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased 26 points, or 0.40%, to 6,739.25.
Market sentiment was boosted after U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the president is open to a deal with China but is ready to increase tariffs on Chinese imports if there is no progress in the talks.
“There’s a good possibility that we can make a deal, and (Trump) is open to it,” Kudlow said of Trump’s meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of the week.
Investors will also pay close attention to comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who speaks to the Economic Club of New York later today.
On Tuesday, Trump once again criticized Powell, whom he picked last year to lead the bank, and the Fed’s rate hikes, which he said were harming the economy.
“Whether the subject matter allows for policy insight remains to be seen, but any dovish nuances will be taken by some as further evidence that the Fed “put” is back in play following Mr Powell’s subtle tonal shift in mid-November,” Neil Mellor, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon emailed in a research note.
Powell’s speech follows less dovish comments from Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida on Tuesday.
Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) was among the top gainers in premarket trading, jumping 8.59% after its financial results came in higher than expected. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) rose 0.48%, while Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) inched up 0.32% and AMD gained 1.71%. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was up 1.26% and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) increased 1.08%.
Elsewhere, Papa John's International Inc (NASDAQ:PZZA) stock slumped 1.49% after news that Trian Fund Management has decided to not pursue an acquisition of the company.
In economic news, revised third quarter gross domestic product data comes out at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT), while new home sales for October are released at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT).
In other commodities, gold futures was flat at $1,219.90 a troy ounce while crude oil futures decreased 0.21% to $51.45 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was flat at 97.28.