U.S. stock index futures were pointing to early gains on Wednesday, with major averages expected to move higher as investors responded positively to strong quarterly results from top financial institutions.
A better-than-expected earnings season kickoff from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) appeared to set the tone for a firmer open.
Shares of Bank of America were up 4.1% in premarket trading after the lender delivered third-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street forecasts on both revenue and earnings. Morgan Stanley jumped 3.9% premarket after posting its own earnings beat.
U.S.-listed shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) also traded higher after the Dutch semiconductor group said “2026 total net sales [are expected] to exceed 2025,” despite releasing mixed third-quarter figures.
Meanwhile, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares were under pressure in early trading after missing revenue expectations for the quarter.
Traders are also monitoring potential comments from Donald Trump regarding U.S.-China trade relations, which have heavily influenced market sentiment in recent sessions.
Tuesday’s trading session saw sharp swings. Stocks recovered from a steep early drop but gave up much of those gains late in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 202.88 points, or 0.4%, higher at 46,270.46, rebounding from a loss of more than 600 points earlier. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 6,644.31, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.8% to 22,521.70.
The late downturn was triggered by a post on Truth Social in which Trump accused China of an “economically hostile act” by cutting soybean purchases and threatened to cut trade ties related to cooking oil and other goods.
Earlier, a spokesperson for Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China defended Beijing’s rare earth export curbs, stating, “The U.S. has long overstated national security, abused export controls, and adopted discriminatory practices against China.”
They added, “In particular, since the Madrid trade talks between China and the U.S., the U.S. has continued to impose a series of new restrictive measures on China, which have seriously harmed China’s interests and seriously undermined the atmosphere of the bilateral trade talks.”
The spokesperson reiterated China’s readiness to “fight to the end” if a trade war intensifies but noted that “the door is open” to negotiations.
Beijing also announced sanctions against five U.S.-based subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, accusing the company of collaborating with Washington on maritime restrictions.
Positive earnings news from the financial sector helped counterbalance early selling. Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) surged 7.2% after posting better-than-expected results and raising its profitability target. Citigroup (NYSE:C) also rose 3.9% after its earnings beat, although JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) slipped despite strong numbers.
Airlines led sector gains, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index up 4.2%. Housing stocks also moved higher, as reflected by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index climbing 2.5%. Banking, networking, and telecom stocks posted solid performances, while semiconductor and hardware names weakened in the final hour of trading.
Abbott Laboratories stock price
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