U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with the main indexes recovering some of the sharp losses from the previous session.
Investors, however, continued to assess the risk that Italy’s latest political drama posed to global markets.
See: Italy’s crisis may be a buying opportunity for stock investors
What are the main benchmarks doing?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, +0.48%
rose 150 points, or 0.6%, to 24,511 in early trade, though it still has some way to recover from Tuesday’s 392-point drop.
The S&P 500
SPX, +0.51%
added 15 points, or 0.6%, to 2,705 with 10 of the 11 main sectors trading higher. Financials and energy shares led the gains, up more than 1%.
The Nasdaq Composite
COMP, +0.44%
advanced 38 points, or 0.5%, to 7,432.
What’s driving markets?
Global equities and other so-called risk assets are finding their footing Wednesday, as traders work out what Italy’s politicians might deliver next. Italy’s stocks and bonds, as well as the euro, are all in recovery mode.
A coalition government led by antiestablishment parties might be in the cards again for Italy, after it looked blocked earlier in the week.
Read: What’s the latest in Italy’s political drama?
What are strategists saying?
“European equity markets are largely positive this morning, but political uncertainty still looms over Italy and Spain,” said David Madden, a CMC Markets U.K. analyst, in a note.
“Short covering and bargain-hunting have pushed stocks higher, but as the underlying political problems are far from being fixed, the positive move might not last long.”
What are other markets doing?
Italy’s FTSE MIB stock benchmark
I945, +1.76%
was recently up about 2%, while the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 Index
SXXP, +0.07%
edged up.
The euro
EURUSD, +0.6672%
rose to $1.1639 from $1.1541 late Tuesday in New York, helping to send the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY, -0.49%
lower.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y, +2.11%
was around 2.84%. On Tuesday, the U.S. benchmark rate tumbled 16 basis points to 2.77%, in its largest one-day drop since the Brexit vote in June 2016.
Gold futures
GCM8, +0.08%
were inching up, while U.S. oil futures
CLN8, +0.75%
moved up slightly.
Which stocks are in focus?
Shares in Salesforce.com Inc.
CRM, +2.36%
rose 3.4% after the maker of software for customer relationship management posted quarterly results and an annual outlook that beat forecasts.
But Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.’s stock
KORS, -11.42%
skidded 9.5% after the fashion house posted its results and signaled it remains open to making acquisitions.
HP Inc.’s stock
HPQ, +2.58%
was higher after the maker of computers and printers posted a revenue beat late Tuesday, but earnings just matched forecasts.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc.
DKS, +18.14%
stock jumped 22% after the retailer reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations and raised its guidance.
DSW Inc.
DSW, -10.24%
shares dropped 10%, pulling back from the previous session’s 2-year closing high, after the discount shoe and accessories retailer reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue, while keeping its outlook unchanged.
Which economic reports are on tap?
The U.S. added 178,000 private-sector jobs in May, payrolls processor ADP said Wednesday. April’s figure, meanwhile, was revised downward by 41,000 to 163,000.
Meanwhile, the first revision of the gross domestic product showed the U.S. economy grew a touch softer in the first quarter than originally reported, mainly because of a slower buildup in inventories. GDP was trimmed to an annual 2.2% pace from 2.3%.
The trade gap in goods — services are excluded — fell 0.6% to $68.2 billion from $68.6.
Check out: MarketWatch’s Economic Calendar
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book is due for release at 2 p.m. Eastern, but no Fed officials are slated to deliver speeches on Wednesday.
Source : MTV
