By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were trading lower in early APAC deals on Wednesday, after major benchmark averages finished higher for the fourth consecutive session despite growing recession fears as the U.S. 5-Year and 30-Year Treasury yields inverted Monday for the first time since 2016, while investors continued to monitor developments in Ukraine.
During Tuesday’s regular deals, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 338.30 points, or 0.97%, to close at 35,294.29. The S&P 500 gained 1.23% to 4,631.60, while the NASDAQ Composite climbed 1.84% to 14,619.64.
Dow Jones Futures eased 0.08%, S&P 500 Futures lost 0.14% and Nasdaq 100 Futures dipped 0.17%.
Among stocks, technology companies lifted as Block Inc (NYSE:SQ) rallied 6.31%, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) added 0.19%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) lifted 1.52%, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) gained 2.8%, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) added 4.01%, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) lifted 1.91%, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) gained 0.74%, Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) lifted 3.63% and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) added 2.49%.
EV makers gained as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) added 0.71%, Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID) gained 7.8% and Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) surged 17.18%
Travel related stocks also rallied amid easing Crude Oil prices, as Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) added 2.05%, JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ:JBLU) lifted 2.59%, Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) gained 3.08%, American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) added 4.97% and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) lifted 4.13%.
Auto stocks were some of the biggest gainers, as Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) gained 6.48%, Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) added 0.45%, Toyota Motor Corporation ADR (NYSE:TM) lifted 3.91% and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) gained 4.61%.
In extended deals, Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) gained 3.83% after reporting results that beat Wall Street estimates on both quarterly earnings and revenue. EPS came in at $US2.14 versus $1.97 expected, while revenue came in at $7.79 billion versus $7.53 billion expected.
Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) popped 7.57% after quarterly earnings. EPS was reported at $3.37 versus $3.27 expected while revenues grew 23% year-over-year to $2.1 billion, slightly below the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. It also announced a $1 billion stock buyback program.
On the bond markets, a key part of the yield curve nearly inverted on Tuesday as 2-Year yields briefly moved higher than 10-Year yields, a signal that a recession is likely to follow in one to two years.
On the economic front, the conference board’s consumer confidence index came in at 107.2, below the 107.5 expected, while the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed 11.3 million job openings, higher than the 11.1 million expected.