Last Updated: 4:05 PM EST
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Stock indices finished today’s trading session mixed. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) fell 0.08%, while the S&P 500 (SPX) finished flat. At the same time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.32%. On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association released its weekly report for the U.S. 30-Year mortgage rate. The mortgage rate increased to 6.9% compared to last week’s reading of 6.86%.
Despite the rate increase, the number of mortgage applications rose by 1.7 week-over-week, following last week’s increase of 0.5%. As a result, mortgage application volume is up substantially on a year-over-year basis, with the Mortgage Market Index at 195.6 compared to 175.6 on November 22, 2023.
Separately, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly Crude Oil Inventories report, which measures the weekly change in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil held by U.S. firms.
Compared to last week, inventories increased by 545,000 barrels. For reference, economists were expecting a rise of 400,000 barrels week-over-week. This means that demand was weaker than anticipated. Nevertheless, WTI crude oil still finished $0.23 higher at $69.39 per barrel.
First Published: 3:40 AM EST
U.S. stock futures edged higher on Wednesday morning as investors eagerly awaited Nvidia’s (NVDA) Q3 earnings report, due for release after the market closes today. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the S&P 500 (SPX) were up 0.21%, 0.25%, and 0.2%, respectively, at 3:22 a.m. EST, November 20.
Wall Street traded in a mixed bag on Tuesday as rising geopolitical concerns between Ukraine and Russia hurt investor sentiment. While the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% and 1.04%, respectively, the Dow Jones closed lower by 0.28%.
Yesterday, Nvidia stock gained about 5% in regular trading, reflecting investor optimism ahead of its earnings release. The chipmaker’s performance is expected to influence the broader market. In major after-market action, Comcast (CMCSA) shares surged 2.4% on reports of a planned spinoff of NBCUniversal cable channels.
While NVDA’s earnings would take center stage today, some other noteworthy companies due to release their quarterly numbers are Snowflake (SNOW), Nio (NIO), Target (TGT), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), ZIM Integrated Shipping (ZIM), and TJX Companies (TJX).
Today’s economic calendar is relatively light, but investors are focused on upcoming comments from Federal Reserve officials Lisa Cook, Michelle Bowman, and Susan Collins for insights into the central bank’s monetary policy outlook.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was up at the time of writing, floating near 4.416%. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures trended higher, hovering near $69.63 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European markets opened higher today as traders closely monitored the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Asia-Pacific Markets Traded Mixed on Wednesday
Asia-Pacific indices were mixed today as investors assessed stronger-than-expected trade data and the People’s Bank of China’s decision to keep interest rates steady.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.18%. Also, China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices rose 0.66% and 0.78%, respectively. However, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices finished lower by 0.16% and 0.43%, respectively.
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