US pre-open: Futures mixed, Dow on track to narrowly extend gains
Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Wednesday after the Dow Jones hit yet another all-time high in the previous session.
As of 1225 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.03%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.01% and 0.12% weaker, respectively.
The Dow closed 64.35 points higher on Tuesday in what was a mixed session for major indices following the President's Day long weekend.
In focus ahead of the bell on Wednesday, Hilton posted a surprise quarterly loss as a surge in new Covid-19 cases continued to weigh on bookings, while Verizon stock was in the green after Berkshire Hathaway took up a sizeable $8.0bn stake in the telco.
Dish Network and Shopify will both report shortly, while Jack in the Box and Hyatt Hotels will update on recent trading after the close.
On the macro front, total mortgage application volume fell 5.1% week-on-week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as another week of rising rates turned away both homeowners and buyers alike.
Still to come, retail sales figures for January were slated for release at 1330 GMT, as was last months producer price index, while monthly industrial production data will follow at 1415 GMT and both December's business inventories report and February's housing market index from the National Association of Housebuilders will be published at 1500 GMT.
SpreadEx's Connor Campbell said: "The Dow Jones is heading for an unchanged open later this afternoon, keeping it at its 31,500-plus all-time high. The Dow is in the position where a one-point increase would be enough for a new record; that also means there may be extra scrutiny on the session’s US retail sales readings."
The Federal Reserve will publish minutes from its latest FOMC meeting at 1900 GMT, while Richmond Fed president Tom Barkins, Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren and Dallas fed head Robert Kaplan will all deliver speeches throughout the course of the day.
Also drawing an amount of investor attention was the 10-year Treasury yield topping 1.30% on Tuesday, a level not seen since February 2020, while the 30-year rate also hit its highest level in a year, leading many on the Street to believe that higher rates could lead to a rotation out of equities and into bonds, putting pressure on areas of the market that have previously benefitted from the low-rate environment.