U.S. futures are retreating and bond yields are climbing again after a barrel of oil ticked back above $100 per barrel Wednesday. Much of the focus on Wall Street will be on the release of minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve, where the nation's benchmark interest rate was hiked for the first time in three years.
Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 0.1% a day after reaching a record 7,818.93. Despite worries over the Iran war, high inflation and pressures from the bond market, the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts has soared 23% since hitting a trough in late March.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures declined 0.4%.
Crude prices rebounded early Wednesday. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 1.3% to $101.88. That’s about $55 more than a barrel cost at this time last year.
U.S. benchmark crude rose 0.6% to $89.99 per barrel.
Yemen's Houthi rebels used ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, to attack military facilities and airports in Saudi Arabia, the rebels’ military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on social media Wednesday. He didn’t provide evidence for the claim.
Also attacked were Abha airport, military facilities in Khamis Mushait and other “critical sites” in the cities of Najran and Asir, according to Saree.
And after falling back slightly this week, bond yields are on the rise again.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 5.33%, while the 30-year Treasury climbed to 5.71%.
The Fed releases the minutes from its September meeting when U.S. central bank officials raised the key interest rate. The minutes may provide clues about where the Fed, and interest rates, are heading.
Earnings season is also just around the corner and PepsiCo will report its quarterly results Thursday. Delta Air Lines posts earnings Friday and several of the country’s biggest banks release quarterly performances next week.
Analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 to deliver overall growth of nearly 30% in earnings per share from a year earlier, according to data provider FactSet. If they’re correct, it would be the third straight quarter of growth better than 25%.
Investors have grown leery of how much growth is being driven by companies in the artificial intelligence race. Those companies can take a hit when it becomes more difficult to borrow, and the 10-year Treasury can be an indicator of credit costs ahead.
The tech sector is the biggest decliner before the opening bell. Micron Technology's stock dropped more than 3%, while shares of Advanced Micro Devices declined nearly 2%. Shares of Nvidia and Broadcom were also lower.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1% to 7,783.00, while Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.8% to 10,460.81. In Germany, the DAX fell 1.3% to 25,116.49. Asian markets were lower. Markets in Shanghai were closed for a national holiday.
The U.S. dollar fell to 158.13 Japanese yen from 158.10 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1197 from $1.1260.
