Stock futures rose on Wednesday after earnings reports from two major bellwethers raised hopes that corporate earnings may be better than feared even with a possible recession on the horizon.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 340 points, or 1%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.8% and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.6%.
Nike shares added 12% after the apparel maker beat Wall Street’s expectations for quarterly earnings and revenue. FedEx gained 4.7% even as it fell short of revenue expectations. The package delivery giant beat consensus earnings per share estimates on per-share.
With the end of 2022 in close sight, all three major averages are on pace to post their worst yearly performance since 2008 and break a 3-year win streak. As of Tuesday’s close, the Dow was down 9.6%. For the month, it’s toppled about 5%. The S&P is down 19.82% for the year and more than 6% for December, while the Nasdaq’s plummeted 32.58% in 2022 and about 8% this month.
Wednesday’s moves followed a day of slight gains for stocks. The major indexes snapped a four-day losing streak, putting a little wind back into hopes for an end-of-year rally.
The modest gains came even after the Bank of Japan moved to widen its cap on the 10-year Japanese government bond yield, leading to a spike in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield higher that initially rattled traders.
There are a few more big names left to report earnings before the Christmas holiday, with Micron reporting after the bell.
Read More: Dow futures jump more than 300 points, boosted by Nike shares