US Stocks Set To Open Marginally Lower, Nvidia Gains, Traders Eye Fed Minutes: Strategist Predicts Many More Years Of Gains Ahead Of Bull Market's 2nd Anniversary

See-sawing mood persists on Wall Street as the index futures point to a marginally lower start on Wednesday after the tech-led rebound witnessed in the previous session. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) is advancing in premarket and the rest of the big techs were just about higher. Commodities are weakening and bond yields are easing. Federal Reserve’s September rate-setting meeting minutes, speeches by Fed officials and developments around Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida could be on traders’ radar.

Some may choose to move to the sidelines ahead of Thursday’s consumer price inflation report which is expected to show a further easing in pricing pressure. Some key earnings reports are also expected to drop over the next two sessions, which is likely to give early indications regarding how this reporting season will pan out.

In premarket trading on Wednesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) edged down 0.04% to $572.93 and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) moved down 0.209% to $488.85, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Session:

IT, communication services and consumer discretionary stocks fueled a strong rally on Wall Street on Tuesday even as energy stocks served as drags. The gains came despite the threat of Hurricane Milton looming large. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose over 4% after contracts electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (OTC:HNHPF) issued positive commentary about the demand for the former’s Blackwell GB200 chips. The positive sentiment rubbed off on other AI-levered tech stocks as well.

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 hovered in positive territory throughout the session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced volatility before closing modestly higher.

Insights From Analysts:

The current bull market started on Oct. 12, 2022, and as its second anniversary nears, a strategist suggested there be could many more years of gains. Carson Group’s Chief Markey Strategist Ryan Detrick said the S&P 500 Index is up 61% so far in this bull market. On average, a bull market lasts about 5.5 years and the average gain clocked is 181%.

The strategist said the bull market may not end soon. Sharing a graphic showing performances of the index during the previous bull markets, he said, “Many more years of gains would be perfectly normal.”

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Upcoming Economic Data:

• The Fed speakers lined up for the day include:
  • Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic: 8 a.m. EDT, 12:45 p.m. EDT
  • Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan: 9:15 a.m. EDT
  • Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee: 10:30 a.m. EDT
  • Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson: 12:30 p.m. EDT
  • Boston Fed President Susan Collins: 5 p.m. EDT
  • San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly: 6 p.m. EDT
• The Commerce Department is due to release wholesale inventories report for August at 10 a.m. EDT. Economists, on average, expect wholesale inventories to rise 0.2% month-over-month, the same pace as in July.
• The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its customary weekly petroleum status report at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
• The Treasury is set to auction 10-year notes at 1 p.m. EDT.
• The Federal Open Market Committee will release the minutes of its September rate-setting meeting at 2 p.m. EDT.

Stocks In Focus:

• Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) is due to report its quarterly results before the market opens, while Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) and AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) will announce their results after the market close.
• Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) climbed over 7% after the company announced a new portfolio of fabric switches meant for demanding AI workloads in accelerated computing platforms deployed at cloud-scale. 
• Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) rose over 3% on a positive analyst action.
• Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) slipped over 1% after the company said talks with union members weren’t going smoothly. Following the strike, S&P placed  Boeing’s rating on CreditWatch as negative.
• Australian miner Arcadium Lithium plc (NYSE:ALTM) soared more than 30% after the company announced an agreement to be acquired by Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO).

Commodities, Bonds And Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures traded modestly lower following Tuesday’s sharp retreat and gold futures were little changed. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was down less than a percent at a little over $62K. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down 1.9 points to 4.016%.

The Asian stocks had another mixed outing on Wednesday, with China’s Shanghai Composite slumping 6.62% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 1.38%. The lack of any further announcements concerning additional stimulus weighed down on these two markets. On the other hand, the Japanese market advanced. The South Korean market was closed for a public holiday.

The European markets were firmer in early trading on Wednesday.

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