U.S. stock futures softened on Wednesday, pausing after a technology-led advance pushed the S&P 500 to new intraday and closing highs. Investors are turning to Federal Reserve meeting minutes for signals on whether additional rate increases remain under consideration.
At 4:15 p.m. (Bangkok Time), Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.11%. Contracts on the S&P 500 were little changed, while Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.28%.
The moves followed another positive session for major benchmarks on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.58%, extending its winning streak to four sessions and finishing above 7,800 for the first time. The Dow added 0.49%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.45%.
Stronger earnings expectations have helped improve market sentiment this week, supporting record levels across major indexes. However, the advance remains heavily dependent on a small group of large technology companies, with Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft together representing about one-fifth of the S&P 500.
Several pressures that have challenged markets this year remain in place. Brent crude futures are still trading above $100 a barrel on Wednesday following the latest Houthi attacks in the Middle East. Treasury yields pulled back Tuesday but remain close to levels not seen in decades.
The next focus for investors is the release of the Fed’s minutes on Wednesday. Markets will assess whether September’s rate increase was viewed as an isolated move or part of a path that could include further tightening. As of Tuesday, traders assigned about a 20% probability to another rate hike at the Fed’s October meeting next week.
