Stock futures mixed
U.S. stock futures were mixed early Wednesday morning, after all the three major stock indices closed the final session of May lower as traders returned from a three-day holiday weekend.
Around 5 a.m. ET, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening surge of 120 points, or 0.36% to 33,091.
S&P 500 futures gained 4.5 points, or 0.11% to 4,135.75 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were down 19 points, or 0.15% to 12,627.50.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 222.84 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 32,990.12. The S&P 500 fell 26.09 points, or 0.6%, to end at 4,132.15 while the Nasdaq Composite gave away 49.74 points, or 0.4%, to close at 12,081.39.
Crude futures move higher
Meanwhile, crude futures were also trading in the positive territory on Tuesday morning.
As of 5 a.m., U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.67, or 1.46% to $116.34 per barrel. Global benchmark Brent crude futures added $1.66, or 1.44% to $117.26 per barrel.
The gains followed European Union’s decision to cut off close to 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
EU leaders agreed Monday to ban the use of Russian oil over the next six months, as a way to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
The 27-country bloc is heavily dependent on Russia for roughly 40% of its natural gas and some members such as Hungry will need to keep importing that gas for now because its economy depends on it.
Biden meets Powell
President Joe Biden met with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday to plot a strategy to fight inflation, with his own political future and the fate of the U.S. economy increasingly dependent on the decisions of the central bank.
At their meeting at the White House on Tuesday, Biden promised not to interfere with the independence of the Fed as it seeks to cool consumer prices.
“My plan to address inflation starts with simple proposition: Respect the Fed, respect the Fed’s independence,” the president said.
He added that Powell and other Fed members “have noted at this moment they have been laser focused on addressing inflation like I am.”
It was their first meeting since Biden renominated Powell in November to lead the Fed and came two weeks after the Senate confirmed him for a second term.
Facebook parent to trade under ‘META’ ticker symbol from June 9
Facebook parent company Meta Platforms said Tuesday it will change the ticker symbol for its shares to “META” from “FB.”
The shares will remain listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The change will be effective prior to market open on June 9.
The California-based company changed its name from Facebook Inc to Meta Platform Inc on Oct. 28 last year in a rebrand that focuses on building a shared virtual environment called the “metaverse.”
At the time, the company said it would change its ticker to “MVRS,” effective Dec. 1