How do stock-index futures contracts work?
Stock market futures (ES00) fell 1.4% to 3,715 points.
Stock futures for the Dow Jones (DJIA) (YM00) fell 382 points, or 1%, to close at 30,144.
Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index slid 1.44 percent to 11,393.
The Dow DJIA +2.15 percent rebounded on Tuesday to close at 30,530.25 after a long holiday weekend, rising by 641.47 points, or 2.2%.
S&P 500 had its worst week in two years, with the Dow and Nasdaq also suffering severe losses. Those gains followed those losses.
A key market factor is what motivates buyers and sellers alike.
For the most part, Wall Street experts were expecting a retreat on Wednesday, stating on Tuesday that the recent comeback was nothing more than an oversold bounce. Stocks of fast-growing and technologically advanced corporations fell. On Tuesday, the stock of Tesla Inc. (TSLA, +9.35 percent) surged 9.3 percent. Recession fears and prospects for more monetary tightening led investors to turn their attention away from the U.S. surge and lower oil prices in Asia.
Reasons to believe that the stock market’s fortunes won’t be changing anytime soon despite Tuesday’s rebound
At the beginning of the week, several Wall Street experts cautioned their clients that the markets had not accurately priced the risk of a recession.
There is no end in sight to the bear market until a recession or the threat of one is extinguished, Morgan Stanley’s top U.S. equities strategist Mike Wilson said in a report on Tuesday. He predicts that the S&P 500 will fall by another 15% to 20% more.
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s hearing before the Senate Banking Committee begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, and investors are eager to see what he has to say.
Investors “fear of missing out” (FOMO) will be on the lookout for any indication that the Federal Reserve may loosen policy to rush back into their buy-the-dip mode, according to Jeffrey Halley, the senior market analyst at OANDA.
In the wake of Tuesday’s gains, the price of US crude oil CL.1 fell 5.2% to $103.86 per barrel, while Brent BRN00, -5.90% fell 5.2% to $109.32 per barrel. In premarket trade, Devon Energy (DVN, +4.38%) and Marathon Oil (MRO, +3.11%) both fell by almost 5 percent to lead the oil and gas majors in losses.
To help alleviate the effects of the recession on consumer demand, the White House said on Wednesday that it would urge Congress to temporarily suspend the federal gasoline tax, as well as urge individual states to follow suit.
Currently, the federal government levies an 18-cent tax on regular gasoline and a 24-cent tax on diesel for every gallon sold. Fuel tax holidays “would increase demand and so extend the time of tightness while benefiting consumers,” said Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen in a letter to customers.
Which businesses are being scrutinized?
Fingerprint Cards AB 0RGY, +0.49 percent’s shares slumped 6.2% on Wednesday after the firm announced that its chairman had stepped down after being found guilty of insider trading.
