Stocks set for more gains
U.S stock markets were poised to extend gains on Wednesday as the economy looked to be in good shape after the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index improved to 56.0 in August from 54.2 in July.
The reading, which was released yesterday, was better than analysts’ forecast of 53.6. A reading above 50.0 indicates growth in manufacturing activity, while a reading below indicates contraction.
Looking forward, market participants are keeping their eyes on the ADP national employment report for August, which is projected to show an addition of 950,000 private sector jobs, versus 167,000 in the previous month. The report will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET.
As of 5:35 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow indicated a gain of 199 points, or 0.7% to 28,821. The S&P 500 futures traded 24.38 points, or 0.69% to 3,551.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures added 124.88 points, or 1.01% to 12,437.38.
Crude futures higher ahead of EIA weekly report
Crude futures were also positive early Wednesday as traders awaited the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to publish its weekly report on petroleum inventories.
By 5:35 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $42.92, up 16 cents, or 0.37% a barrel. International Brent crude futures gained 13 cents, or 0.29% to $45.71 a barrel.
The report, which is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, is expected to show a drop of 2.14 million barrels compared to a draw of 4.7 million barrels reported the previous week.
Data published by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories dropped by 6.4 million barrels in the week ended August 28 to about 501.2 million barrels. Analysts had expected a draw of 1.9 million barrels.
Macy’s earnings on tap
Today’s before-the-bell earnings include Macy’s (NYSE: M), Guess (NYSE: GES), Lands’ End (NASDAQ: LE), and Vera Bradley (NASDAQ: VRA). Analysts see Macy’s reporting second-quarter loss of $1.77 per share on revenue of $3.47 billion.
Notable earnings to watch after the closing bell include Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE), Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), Science Applications (NYSE: SAIC), Cloudera (NYSE: CLDR), and CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ: CRWD).