U.S. stock futures climbed Wednesday ahead of U.S. inflation data, suggesting that the major indexes will resume this month’s rally.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. Contracts on the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 also advanced 0.3%. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow closed lower on Tuesday after notching record highs earlier in the week.
Stocks have pushed higher this month, with the benchmark S&P 500 notching its eighth record close of the year on Monday. Investors are betting that President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package will help bolster the economy while vaccinations help reduce Covid-19 fatalities. Investor sentiment has also been buoyed by companies’ quarterly results that have largely proved to be better than expected.
“As long as earnings estimates are going up, stocks are going up,” said Andrew Slimmon, a managing director and portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. “The magnitude of the earnings beats we have seen are so great because earnings have been way underestimated.”
Ahead of the opening bell, ride-hailing firm Lyft rose over 12% after posting a narrower annual loss, suggesting the company is moving toward profitability. Rival Uber Technologies is among the companies scheduled to release its results after the market closes. Uber rose more than 6% premarket.