Dow futures lift as Fed considers smaller hikes

By Oliver Gray 

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were trading higher during Wednesday’s evening deals, following a positive close among benchmark indices as investors turned optimistic after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting revealed that policymakers expected a slowing in the pace of rate hikes to soon be appropriate.

By 18:45 ET (23:45 GMT) Dow Jones Futures were up 0.1% while S&P 500 Futures and Nasdaq 100 Futures added 0.2% apiece.

In extended deals, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) lifted 0.1% after finishing regular trade 7.8% higher following an upgrade by analysts at Citi. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) gained 0.4% while HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) lifted 0.1%.

Markets in the U.S. will remain closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving public holiday.

On the data front, building permits fell at a greater pace than expected, down 3.3% month on month versus an addition of 1.4% in the previous period. Core durable goods orders came in above expectations at 0.5% from -0.9% in the previous month. Meantime, Preliminary Manufacturing and Services PMI prints came in below expectations while Michigan consumer expectations and sentiment surprised to the upside.

During Wednesday’s regular session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 96 points or 0.3% to 34,194.1, the S&P 500 added 23.7 points or 0.6% to 4,027.3, and the NASDAQ Composite lifted 110.9 poitns or 1% to 11,285.3.

On the bond markets, United States 10-Year rates were trading near 7-week lows of 3.689% while the US Dollar Index fell to near 14-week lows of 106.1.