A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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U.S. equities futures were little changed Wednesday after another choppy trading session as investors remained cautious amid rising rates and the Nasdaq dipped into correction territory.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 28 points, or 0.08%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.17% and Nasdaq 100 futures inched about 0.2% lower.
United Airlines shares fell about 2.5% in extended trading after the company reported its quarterly results and warned that omicron has dented bookings and will delay its pandemic recovery.
In regular trading, the Dow fell for the fourth day in a row, by 339 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 also fell 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite closed down by 1.15% and now sits about 10% from its November record.
This year’s turbulence in tech stocks, set off by a spike in yields in the first week of January, continued Wednesday as the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a high of 1.9%. It started the year at about 1.5%.
Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network, acknowledged that the turbulence could last for some time but said investors shouldn’t panic about interest rate increases and that they’re normal as the economy returns to normal.
“The economy and markets can and do adjust to changes in interest rates,” McMillan said. “This environment is a normal part of the cycle and one we see on a regular basis. The current trend is perhaps a bit faster than we’ve been seeing, but it is a response to real economic factors—and, therefore, normal in context.”
In addition to growth stocks, banks also pulled back Wednesday, despite strong earnings reports from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, both of which saw shares rise.
Big regional banks Regions Financial and Fifth Third will report earnings Thursday before the bell, as well as American Airlines, Union Pacific and Baker Hughs. Netflix is the big name to watch Thursday. The streaming giant is set to report its quarterly results after the bell.
In economic data, investors are expecting numbers on jobless claims and existing home sales Thursday.