HG MARKETS:

On Wednesday, US futures showed a mixed picture, with the S&P 500 edging up by approximately 0.1% and the Nasdaq 100 rising by 0.5%, whereas the Dow Jones dipped by roughly 30 points. Investors continued to focus on corporate earnings. In premarket trading, Tesla’s shares surged by over 12.5% following Elon Musk’s announcement of plans to expedite the launch of more affordable models, despite the company’s disappointing earnings and revenue. It is rebounding from a 15-month low hit earlier this week, after the electric vehicle manufacturer said it was accelerating the launch of new EV models- which would also include more affordable options- to the second half of 2025. A cheap EV model could represent the next leg of growth for Tesla, and also enable more sales of its high-margin self-driving software. The announcement largely overshadowed weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings from the EV maker, as well as doubts over its plans to pivot heavily into robotaxis and full self-driving – which CEO Elon Musk had touted recently. Visa also saw an uptick of nearly 3% after reporting better-than-expected earnings, while Texas Instruments jumped by around 7% after providing a robust revenue forecast. AT&T gained close to 3% after surpassing earnings expectations but falling short on sales. Meta, Qualcomm, and IBM are scheduled to report their earnings today after the closing bell, while Boeing is set to report before markets open.

Wall Street indexes closed higher for the second consecutive session as bargain buying replaced the recent decline in technology stocks. On Wednesday, the tech sector will remain under scrutiny, particularly with Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) set to report earnings after the market close, followed by tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on Thursday. Investors will closely observe whether these tech majors can validate the significant increase in their valuations during the first quarter. Positive earnings results are expected to boost optimism and lift the broader tech sector.

In addition to the tech majors, Wednesday will see earnings reports from International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) in the tech sector. Other notable reports include Boeing (NYSE:BA), AT&T (NYSE:T), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), and CME Group (NASDAQ:CME). The first-quarter earnings season has generally been positive, with 80% of S&P 500 companies beating expectations and showing earnings growth among the 14% that have reported so far, according to analysts at Oppenheimer. Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) saw a rise of over 7% in premarket trading following positive earnings, while Visa (NYSE:V) gained almost 3% after beating expectations for the first quarter. On the downside, Uber (NYSE:UBER) and LYFT (NASDAQ:LYFT) declined after Tesla announced plans to enter the ride-hailing market. Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) fell 6% due to weaker-than-expected earnings.

The dollar index hovered around 105.6 after experiencing a 0.4% decline in the previous session. This decline was influenced by subdued growth in the US private sector, which strengthens the argument for potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Recent data revealed that business growth in the US slowed, with both manufacturing and services activities showing only marginal expansion in April. Additionally, the dollar faced pressure from a resurgence in the euro and sterling following robust business activity data from the Eurozone and Britain. Furthermore, the US dollar weakened against the Australian dollar due to stronger-than-anticipated inflation figures in Australia, leading to expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia may not implement rate cuts in the near term. Investors are now anticipating US GDP data on Thursday and the Fed’s preferred PCE price index report on Friday to gain better insights into the monetary policy outlook.