(Editor’s note: The headline, lede, and prices of futures, commodities, ETFs and stocks were updated and the ADP February jobs data was added)
U.S. stock futures climbed on Wednesday as oil prices fell for the first time since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran, easing some of the inflation fears that had rattled markets over the prior two sessions.
The pullback came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the Trump administration would make “a series of announcements” to support oil tanker traffic through the Persian Gulf, building on Trump’s Tuesday pledge of naval escorts and political risk insurance via the International Development Finance Corporation.
Higher oil prices have stoked fears of stickier inflation, which could keep the Fed on hold longer and remove the rate-cut cushion markets have been leaning on all year. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), jumped to 23.96 on Wednesday, its highest level since November.
Meanwhile, the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday revealed that U.S. private employers added 63,000 jobs in February, above the 48,000 expected and compared to January’s revised 11,000 gain.
“We’ve seen an increase in hiring and pay gains remain solid, especially for job-stayers,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “But with hiring concentrated in only a few sectors, our data shows no widespread pay benefit from changing jobs. In fact, the pay premium for switching employers hit a record low in February.”
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.07%, and the two-year bond was at 3.52%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 97.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
Index
Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones
0.21%
S&P 500
0.31%
Nasdaq 100
0.49%
Russell 2000
0.45%
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were slightly up in premarket trading on Wednesday. The SPY was up 0.30% at $682.47, while the QQQ rose 0.52% to $604.70.
