Wall Street futures are showing moderate gains ahead of Wednesday's opening bell, indicating the potential for new all-time highs as traders evaluate the tail end of the earnings season and await commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Powell is set to address a moderated discussion at the New York Times DealBook Summit at 1:40 pm ET.
Prior to his remarks, the ADP employment report for November will be released at 8:15 am, serving as a precursor to the national job bulletin due out on Friday. In early trading, the S&P 500 rose by 0.3%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.6%, and the Dow Jones increased by 0.5%. Meanwhile, Asian markets exhibited sluggish trading, particularly in Seoul, which faced losses attributed to domestic political disturbances.
European stock markets, however, showed modest gains by midday. Companies such as Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Hormel Foods (HRK), and Dollar Tree (DLTR) are among those slated to report their earnings prior to the opening bell. The economic agenda also includes Powell's presentation, the ADP jobs report, and the weekly MBA mortgage applications, which are scheduled for release at 7 am ET.
Additionally, the final S&P Global composite US PMI for November is set to be disclosed at 9:45 am, followed by factory orders for October and the November ISM services index at 10 am. The weekly EIA report on domestic oil inventories will be published at 10:30 am. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which compiles various business and economic reports from the 12 regional Fed branches, will be available at 2 pm.
Furthermore, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem is expected to speak at 8:45 am. In premarket activity, Bitcoin was trading at $96,638, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was priced higher at $70.43, and the yield on 10-year US Treasuries was at 4.26%. Spot gold was trading at $2,642 per ounce..