Market information is displayed on monitors as a trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange on April 4, 2024.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
U.S. stock futures ticked higher on Tuesday night after the S&P 500 notched its third straight day of losses.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose by 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.15%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 62 points, or 0.16%.
In extended trading hours, United Airlines gained 5% after posting a narrower-than-expected loss and beating on revenue. J.B. Hunt Transport Services fell 5% after missing analysts’ expectations on the top and bottom lines.
The Dow ended Tuesday’s trading session higher by 0.17%, breaking a six-day losing streak. The index was carried higher by UnitedHealth, which rose more than 5% after posting beats on the top and bottom lines in the first quarter.
The S&P 500 fell 0.21%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.12%. It was the third straight day of declines for both averages.
The moves come after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the Federal Reserve needs to see more progress on the inflation front before the U.S. central bank is likely to begin cutting rates. The comments did little to assuage the market’s pessimism, said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst with Baird.
“The primary headwind is the hawkish repricing of Fed expectations. I don’t think Fed Chair Powell did much to ease those concerns today, perhaps intentionally,” he told CNBC. “The market is getting to a place where it’s questioning whether there will be a rate cut at all in 2024.”
Mayfield sees equities trading mostly range-bound in the near term, with an exception being if any geopolitical event spikes oil prices even higher.
U.S. Bancorp and Travelers are set to report their earnings Wednesday before the bell.