U.S. stocks could claw back their losses, although nervousness is palpable as traders play the waiting game ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole address on Friday. The major averages are slightly higher early Wednesday. The CBOE Volatility Index, aka VIX, climbed more than 8% and has topped the 16 level, reflecting a slight increase in the fear sentiment. The Fed minutes due in the afternoon and the earnings reports of the day could influence trading direction.
Futures
Performance (+/-)
Nasdaq 100
+0.04%
S&P 500
+0.07%
Dow
+0.07%
R2K
+0.5%
In premarket trading on Wednesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) edged up 0.03% to $558.85, and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) gained 0.02% to $480.38, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
The eight-session advance proved to be too good of an opportunity to be let gone and traders promptly took some money off the tables, and this dragged stocks lower on Tuesday. Disappointing earnings from home-improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) also served as a downside trigger. Stocks are digesting Monday’s strong gains, said fund manager Louis Navellier.
The major averages opened lower but managed to move into positive territory in early trading. They pulled back soon after and languished below the unchanged line for the remainder of the session. That said, the losses were only modest, underlining the positive momentum in the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped a five-session run, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 Index retreated after eight straight sessions of gains.
Small-cap stocks underperformed, with the Russell 2,000 Index falling by over 1%.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors settled the session lower, led ...
