The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to extend the upward move seen over the course of the two previous sessions.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes as traders continue to express optimism about the economy reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Traders seem to be shrugging off a report from ADP showing a record plunge in private sector employment in the month of April.
Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, extending the rebound seen over the course of Monday's session. With the upward move, the major averages further offset the pullback seen late last week.
The major averages pulled back sharply going into the close but still ended the day in positive territory. The Dow rose 133.33 points or 0.6 percent to 23,883.09, the Nasdaq jumped 98.41 points or 1.1 percent to 8,809.12 and the S&P 500 climbed 25.70 points or 0.9 percent to 2,868.44.
Healthcare stocks showed a significant move to the upside during the trading day, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index up by 2.2 percent.
Significant strength was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Pharmaceutical, semiconductor and software stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while weakness emerged among tobacco, oil service and banking stocks.
The late-day pullback by stocks has been attributed to Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida telling CNBC that the economy may need more fiscal and monetary support.
On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing U.S. service sector activity contracted for the first time since December of 2009 in the month of April.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index tumbled to 41.8 in April from 52.5 in March, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in service sector activity.
The non-manufacturing index slumped to its lowest level since hitting 40.1 in March of 2009 but still came in above economist estimates for a reading of 36.8.
However, note from economists at Oxford Economics pointed out the index would have fallen even further were it not for a record rise in the supplier deliveries index caused by supply chain disruptions.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are ______________ a barrel after spiking $4.17 to $24.56 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at ________________, ___________ compared to the previous session's close of $1,710.60. On Tuesday, gold fell $2.70.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at _________ yen compared to the ________ yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at ___________ compared to yesterday's _________.
Asia
Asian shares ended broadly higher on Wednesday as several countries announced plans to ease lockdown measures amid falling coronavirus infection rates.
The Japanese markets were closed for the Constitution Day holiday. China's Shanghai Composite index gained 0.63 percent to end at 2,878.14 as traders returned to their desks after a five-day break.
Hang Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.13 percent to 24,137.48 even as data showed the country's retail sales fell for the fourteenth straight month in March. The private sector in Hong Kong continued to contract in April, albeit at a slightly slower rate, the latest survey from IHS Marketing revealed.
Australian markets finished modestly lower, dragged down by banks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 22.50 points, or 0.42 percent, to 5,384.60, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 13.30 points, or 0.24 percent, at 5,464.80.
Banks ANZ, NAB and Westpac fell between 1.5 percent and 2.4 percent on concerns that a sharp rise in credit loss provisions could hit their bottom lines.
Storage company National Storage REIT slumped 6.5 percent after completing its fully underwritten $300 million institutional placement.
Energy stocks eked out modest gains after oil prices soared overnight on hopes for a pick-up in fuel demand.
Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto shed around 0.9 percent each, while gold miner Newcrest jumped 3.2 percent, Northern Star Resources rose over 1 percent and Regis Resources advanced 1.5 percent.
Electronics and hardware giant JB Hi-Fi climbed 3.4 percent after posting strong third-quarter results.
In economic news, a government report showed that retail sales in Australia spiked a seasonally adjusted 8.5 percent month-on-month in March - beating expectation for an increase of 8.2 percent following the upwardly revised 0.6 percent gain in February.
Seoul stocks advanced on hopes that the reopening of businesses and relaxations for movement during lockdown will eventually lead to economic revival.
The benchmark Kospi rallied 33.39 points, or 1.76 percent, to close at 1,928.76. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Hyundai Motor rose 1-2 percent, while the country's top web portal operator Naver surged as much as 6.5 percent.
New Zealand shares rose notably, with the benchmark NZX 50 index rising 82.11 points, or 0.78 percent, to 10,572.84 after some European and Asian countries along with several U.S. states began to ease coronavirus lockdown measures.
Pushpay Holdings shares soared 20.9 percent after the payments platform provider said it expects its rapid pace of growth to continue.
The jobless rate in New Zealand came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020, Statistics New Zealand said in a report.
That was up from 4.0 percent in the three months prior, although it beat expectations for 4.3 percent. The employment change was roughly flat quarter-on-quarter.
Singapore's Straits Times index was up 1.2 percent despite weak economic data. The private sector in Singapore continued to contract in April, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from IHS Marketing revealed with a record low PMI score of 28.1, down from 33.3 in March.
Separately, official data showed that the country's retail sales declined 13.3 percent year-on-year in March as consumption decreased due to the containment measures enforced to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was down half a percent. The country's GDP climbed 2.97 percent on a yearly basis in the first quarter, much slower than the 4.97 percent expansion seen in the fourth quarter as the Covid-19 outbreak weighed heavily on consumption, investment and tourism, official data showed.
Europe
European stocks were mixed in cautious trade on Wednesday as European business data disappointed and several Federal Reserve officials warned of more damage to the economy from the coronavirus.
As many countries ease lockdown measures, investors also remain concerned about a potential second wave of infections.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was up 0.3 percent at 336.53 after rallying 2.2 percent on Tuesday.
The German DAX edged up 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.6 percent, while France's CAC 40 index was down 0.2 percent.
German insurance and asset management company Allianz SE rallied 2.3 percent. The company aims to maintain its dividend despite uncertainties caused by coronavirus pandemic.
Schaeffler surged 8.7 percent after reporting robust earnings and strong free cash flow for the first quarter.
Hannover Re rose 4.4 percent. The reinsurance giant withdrew its 2020 guidance after posting solid results in the first quarter.
Denmark's Novo Nordisk rose 2.3 percent and Germany's Fresenius Medical Care advanced 1.4 percent after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
Crédit Agricole Group shares rose 1.5 percent. The French bank's profit fell in the first quarter as it set aside more provisions to cover potential loan losses.
Italy's biggest bank UniCredit rose about half a percent. The lender reported itsbiggest loss in more than three years after writing down loans in anticipation of the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Norwegian Air plunged 13 percent. The low-cost airline said it would sell new shares at a 79 percent discount to the latest traded price on the Oslo Bourse.
BMW tumbled 3.3 percent after the automaker cut its automotive profit margin forecast for 2020 to between zero and 3 percent.
In economic news, the euro area private sector experienced a record downturn in April due to the severe disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, final survey results from IHS Markit showed.
The composite output index slid to a new series low of 13.6 from March's 29.7 as both manufacturing and services reported record fall in output in April. The flash score was 13.5.
German factory orders declined by 15.6 percent on a monthly basis in March, much bigger than the 1.2 percent drop logged in February, data published by Destatis showed. This was the biggest fall since January 1991.
On a yearly basis, factory orders were down 16 percent, in contrast to a 1.9 percent rise in February.
Activity in the U.K. construction sector slumped to a record low in April, figures from IHS Markit showed.
The Markit/CIPS construction purchasing managers' index slid to 8.2 in April from 39.3 in March as Covid-19 forced a reduction in activity.
U.S. Economic Reports
Private sector employment nosedived in the month of April, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP on Wednesday.
The report said private sector employment plunged by 20.236 million jobs in April after slumping by a revised 149,000 jobs in May.
Economists had expected employment to tumble by 20.050 million jobs compared to the loss of 27,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
ADP noted the report utilizes data through the 12th of the month and does not reflect the full impact of COVID-19 on the overall employment situation.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.