The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday, with stocks poised to add to the gains posted in the previous session.
Better than expected quarterly results from tech giant Apple (AAPL) are likely to generate buying interest early in the trading day on Wednesday.
Following the mixed performance seen on Monday, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. With the upward move on the day, the Dow reached another new record closing high.
The major averages all ended the day moderately higher. The Dow climbed 72.80 points or 0.3 percent to 21,963.92, the Nasdaq edged up by 14.81 points or 0.2 percent to 6,362.94 and the S&P 500 rose 6.05 points or 0.2 percent to 2,476.35.
The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to react to the latest batch of earnings news, with most corporate results exceeding economist estimates.
Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with traders reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report on Friday.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed U.S. personal income unexpectedly came in unchanged in the month of June.
The report said personal income edged down by less than a tenth of a percent in June after rising by a revised 0.3 percent in May.
Economists had expected income to climb by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said real spending, which is adjusted to remove price changes, was nearly unchanged in June after climbing by 0.2 percent in the previous month.
A separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showed a slowdown in the pace of growth in the manufacturing sector in the month of July.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index dropped to 56.3 in July from 57.8 in June, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to fall to 56.5.
Electronic storage stocks showed a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index up by 1.6 percent.
Significant strength was also visible among telecommunications stocks, as reflected by 1.3 percent jump by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index.
Airline and banking stocks also showed notable moves to the upside, while trucking and steel stocks came under pressure on the day.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are inching up $0.01 to $49.17 a barrel after tumbling $1.01 to $49.16 a barrel on Tuesday. Gold futures, which climbed $6 to $1,272.60 an ounce in the previous session, are falling $6.60 to $1,266 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 110.95 yen compared to the 110.36 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1828 compared to yesterday's $1.1802.
Asia
Asian shares turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday as Apple reported better than expected quarterly results and weak U.S. personal income and manufacturing data helped investors pare back their expectations for rate increases this year.
Japanese shares moved higher as solid quarterly results from domestic companies helped offset concerns over a rising yen.
The Nikkei 225 Index rose 94.25 points or 0.5 percent to 20,080.04, its highest level since July 21st. The broader Topix index closed 0.4 percent higher at 1,634.38.
Honda Motor rallied 2.8 percent after the automaker reported upbeat earnings results for the first quarter and raised its full-year outlook.
Apple suppliers TDK Corp, Taiyo Yuden and Murata Manufacturing jumped 3-5 percent after the iPhone maker delivered surprisingly strong fiscal third-quarter earnings.
Meanwhile, Australian shares fell, dragged down by banks and resource stocks. Investors ignored positive building approvals and services sector data.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 28.20 points or 0.5 percent to 5,744.20, while the broader Ordinaries Index shed 26.10 points or 0.5 percent to finish at 5,794.50.
Weaker commodity prices weighed on miners, with BHP Billiton losing 1.6 percent and Fortescue Metals Group ending down 1.2 percent. Rio Tinto slipped 0.2 percent before releasing its earnings results after the market close.
Energy majors Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Origin Energy and Beach Energy slid about 1 percent each as oil fell from a two-month high on data showing a surprise build in U.S. inventories. The big four banks fell between 0.4 percent and 1 percent.
China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped 6.62 points or 0.2 percent to 27,607.38, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 67.15 points or 0.2 percent to 27,607.38.
Europe
European shares fell on Wednesday as earnings proved to be a mixed bag and the euro and pound surged against a broadly weaker dollar amid continued political uncertainty in the U.S. Banks and mining stocks led the decliners, offsetting gains in the technology sector.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.3 percent at 379.27 in late opening deals after rising 0.6 percent in the previous session.
The German DAX was moving down 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 index was losing 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent.
Commerzbank shares fell 2 percent after the German lender reported a larger-than-expected second-quarter loss due to high restructuring costs.
Societe Generale tumbled 4.6 percent after the French lender reported lower second-quarter profits and revenues, hit by litigation costs.
Mining giant Rio Tinto fell 2.4 percent in London after its interim underlying profit came in below consensus forecast.
Standard Chartered shares tumbled 4.8 percent after the bank posted improved profits for the first-half, but said it would not resume paying dividends.
RSA Insurance Group lost 2.5 percent. The motor and home insurer gave a cautious outlook after delivering better-than-expected first-half profit.
On the positive side, Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor jumped 4 percent, AMS climbed nearly 5 percent and STMicroelectronics rallied 3 percent after the iPhone maker delivered surprisingly strong fiscal third-quarter earnings.
Lufthansa advanced 2.6 percent. The German airline's second-quarter net profit jumped 69 percent, thanks to strong demand and a robust pricing environment.
William Hill soared 12 percent after the bookmaker saw revenue improve 3 percent in its first half.
U.S. Economic Reports
Employment in the U.S. private sector increased by less than expected in the month of July, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 178,000 jobs in July after jumping by 191,000 jobs in June. Economists had expected an increase of about 185,000 jobs.
At 11 am ET, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester will be the keynote speaker at the Community Bankers Association of Ohio Annual Convention in Cincinnati.
San Francisco Fed President John Williams is due to discuss "Monetary Policy's Role in Fostering Sustainable Growth" in Las Vegas, with audience and media Q&A at 3:30 pm ET.
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Business News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.