Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a lower opening bell on Wednesday, as investor unease over rising bond yields offset a rise in corporate earnings.
The S&P 500 futures was down over 12 and a half points or 0.48% to 2,633.50 as of 6:58 AM ET (10:58 GMT) while Dow futures decreased 109 points or 0.45% to 23,875.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell 38 points or 0.59% to 6,7488.0.
Bond yields have risen to their highest levels in four years, as inflation has added to expectations of continued rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
Yields continued to rise on Wednesday, with the yield on the benchmark United States 10-Year Treasury note up 1.06% to 3.015. The United States 2-Year note rose to 2.504, a level not seen since 2008.
A rise in bond yields could lead to a fall in equities, as the increase in yields dampans investor appetite for riskier assets.
On the earnings front, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), AT&T (NYSE:T), Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD),Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) will report later in the day while Boeing (NYSE:BA) is expected to report before the morning bell.
Twitter jumped 10.56% in pre-market trading after it reported a $0.16 in earnings per share versus $0.12 expected and a monthly user increase of 3.00%/
Other top movers included Nokia Corp ADR (NYSE:NOK), which rose 0.84%, and Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS), up 5.43% after its earnings came in higher than expected.
Elsewhere Facebook inched down 0.12%, while ING Group NV ADR (NYSE:ING) fell 3.30% and Deutsche Bank AG NA O.N. (NYSE:DB) decreased 2.23%.
In Europe stocks were down. Germany’s DAX fell 191 points or 1.53% while in France the CAC 40 decreased 38 points or 0.71% and in London, the FTSE 100 was down 43 points or 0.59%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 dipped 31 points or 0.90% while Spain’s IBEX 35 fell 44 points or 0.45%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.55% to $1,325.80 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.19% to $67.83 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.23% to 90.77.