Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open for the major indexes on Wednesday, with the Dow futures rising to a fresh all-time high as the calmer tone of U.S. President Donald Trump’s address to Congress reassured investors.
The blue-chip Dow futures added 80 points, or 0.38% by 6:55AM ET (11:55GMT), the S&P 500 futures rose 10.75 points, or 0.45%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 27.13 points, or 0.51%.
The gains were a reversal from the previous session, where stocks ended down and the Dow snapped a 12-day streak of record closes.
All three major indexes posted gains for the month of February with the S&P 500 up 3.7%, the Dow up 4.8% and the Nasdaq up 3.8%.
Trump’s speech to Congress on Tuesday offered few details on his plans for infrastructure spending and tax reforms, but did strike a more restrained tone after a turbulent first month in office.
Market sentiment was also boosted by a generally upbeat batch of data on the global manufacturing sector for February.
The dollar rose as expectations for a March rate hike mounted after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said Tuesday that the case for tightening monetary policy "has become a lot more compelling".
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up around 0.42% at 101.76. It rose to 101.79 earlier, its strongest level since January 11.
Treasury yields shot up, with the U.S. 10-Year bond up around 6 basis points at 2.420%, after reaching a daily peak of 2.426%, the highest since February 22.
In earnings news, Lowe's topped analysts' estimates across the board on Wednesday, posting revenue, earnings and same-store sales that beat expectations.
Shares in Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), which operates a chain of retail home improvement stores, were up around 5.0% in premarket trade.
Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) was expected to announce its fourth-quarter earnings before the market open later on Wednesday.
Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, is to price its initial public offering after the market close on Wednesday, in what is the most eagerly anticipated technology IPO since Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) went public several years ago.
The stock is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SNAP on Thursday.
Market participants were also looking ahead to U.S. economic reports later in the day.
The U.S. is to release personal income, consumer spending and core price index data for January at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT). At 10:00AM ET (15:00GMT), the ISM will publish its manufacturing survey for February. There are also monthly vehicle sales issued by auto manufacturers throughout the morning.
Also on the docket, Fed Governor Lael Brainard is due to speak at 6:00PM ET (23:00GMT).