By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were trading slightly higher in early APAC deals on Wednesday, after major benchmark indices finished lower as financial companies were hit on lower yields, while commodities such as Crude Oil were bid as investors monitored the evolving conflict in Ukraine.
In regular trading, the Dow fell 597.65 points or 1.76% to 33294.96. The S&P 500 lost 67.68 points or 1.55% to 4306.27 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 218.94 points or 1.59% to 13532.46.
Dow Jones Futures added 0.31%, S&P 500 Futures increased 0.29% and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.12%.
During Tuesday’s regular session, financial stocks were hit with JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) down 3.77%, Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG) losing 7.36%, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) falling 3.91%, Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) down 1.08%, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) losing 5.77% and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) declining 3.43%.
Tech shares were mostly lower as Block Inc (NYSE:SQ) lost 1.13%. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 1.58%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) dipped 1.29%, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) declined 3.57%, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 1.16% and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) eased 0.74%.
EV makers retreated as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) lost 0.7%, Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) declined 8.36% and Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID) shed 13.77% following earnings.
Energy stocks were higher however amid continued upward pressure on oil prices, with WTI Crude touching fresh 7-year highs due to ongoing conflicts in Ukraine. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) added 7%, Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) lifted 0.96%, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) gained 3.97% and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) added 2.21%.
Some of the market’s losses were offset by strong Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) earnings, with the retailer finishing 9.84% higher.
In extended deals, Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) surged 35.62% after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings and revenue.
SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFI) popped 21.61% after reporting losses per share of 15 cents versus 17 cents expected, while revenue came in at $278.8 million, slightly beating estimates of $279.3 million.
Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) also gained 3.98% in extended trading after it reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations.
On the bond markets, United States 10-Year rates were significantly lower at 1.719% as market participants rotated into the safe-haven amid continued geopolitical uncertainty.
Ahead in the week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, with investors watching closely for his comments on potential rate hikes, as market expectations for hikes this year has eased slightly since Russia’s invasion.