By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock index futures traded steady in early APAC deals on Wednesday, with major benchmark indices trading near record high valuations, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both posted their fifth consecutive session of gains as stronger than expected earnings results from major companies boosted risk sentiment.
In Tuesday’s regular trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 198.7 points, or 0.56% to 35457.32. the S&P 500 added 33.17 points or 0.74% to 4519.64, while the NASDAQ Composite advanced 107.28 points or 0.71% to close at 15129.09.
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.
Among stocks, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) closed 2.34% during regular trade following better than expected earnings, while Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) dipped 1.88% after flagging higher prices on more household goods. Meantime, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) moved 0.95% lower in extended trade following earnings results as the company added 4.4 million subscribers during the period. United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) also lifted 2.01% after-hours after posting quarterly results that beat analyst expectations as travel demand continues to rise.
Elsewhere in the market, the first Bitcoin-linked ETF began trading on Tuesday - ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE:BITO) – pushing the price of bitcoin to near fresh all-time highs of US$64,329.
On the bond markets, United States 10-Year rates lifted to fresh 5-month highs amid expectation that the Federal Reserve would begin its tapering of asset purchases next month amid surging commodity prices and growing fears of persistent inflation.
On the data front, Housing starts in the US unexpectedly fell to its lowest in 5 months, amid ongoing supply disruptions and higher costs for building materials.