U.S. markets were mostly churning higher again in off-hours trading early Wednesday, while prices for gold and silver soared ahead of an interest rate decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.3% before the opening bell after hitting an all-time high a day earlier. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were nearly unchanged while Nasdaq futures climbed 0.8%.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. central bank is due to announce
its latest move on interest rates. The expectation is that it will hold its main interest rate steady for now.
Inflation remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target, and lower interest rates could push prices even higher for U.S. consumers even while giving the economy a boost. Traders expect the Fed to resume its cuts to interest rates later this year.
The Fed cut its benchmark rate three times in a row to close out 2025 in an effort to shore up a softening labor market. Job gains were tepid at best last year compared to 2024, and while layoffs and unemployment remain historically low, more companies have been announcing workforce reductions.
Amazon said Wednesday that it was laying off another 16,000 corporate employees. that follows October's round of cuts that shed 14,000 workers. On Wednesday, UPS said it is planning to cut up to 30,000 operational jobs, while the image-sharing platform Pinterest said it planned to reduce its head count by 15%.
The dollar rebounded slightly against the Japanese yen early Wednesday but has still weakened sharply since last week, putting pressure on shares of major exporters.
The dollar was trading at 152.45 yen, up from 152.19 yen. But it’s nearly 4% lower than its level last week, when it surged to near 160 yen, prompting both Japanese and U.S. officials to warn they would intervene to stanch the yen’s decline.
The dollar has weakened since President Donald Trump threatened tariffs against several European countries that he said opposed his taking control of Greenland. Such threats, along with worries about risks like the U.S. government’s heavy debt, have periodically pushed global investors to step back from U.S. markets, a move that’s come to be called “Sell America.”
An index measuring the U.S. dollar’s strength against several of its competitors has dropped to its lowest point since 2022.
The euro slipped to $1.1982 from $1.2041 late Monday. It also has surged against the dollar.
In premarket trading, health care companies were notable laggards with Cigna, Molina and Elevance all down between 2% and 4%. UnitedHealth Group stabilized after losing nearly 20% of its value on Tuesday after the U.S. government's projected rate increase for Medicare Advantage came in well below expectations.
On the winning side early was the technology sector, where Seagate, Western Digital, Sandisk and Intel all jumped between 5% and 10%.
Several of Wall Street’s most influential stocks will deliver their latest earnings reports in the coming days. They include Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla on Wednesday and Apple on Thursday.
The pressure is on companies to deliver strong growth in profits following record-setting runs for their stock prices. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term, and earnings need to rise to quiet criticism that they’ve grown too expensive.
The price of gold jumped 3.5% to $5,263 per ounce and silver’s price jumped 6.2%, to $112.50. Both were just off record highs.
Prices of precious metals have been soaring as investors, including major central banks, have sold dollars to park their money in assets considered to be relatively safe in times of turmoil.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX was down 0.4% at midday, while the CAC 40 in Paris sank 1.2%. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.5%.
In Asian trading, South Korea’s benchmark hit a record, lifted by gains for technology shares like computer chip maker SK Hynix, which climbed 5.1%. The Kospi gained 1.7% to 5,170.81.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index clawed back early losses to edge less than 0.1% higher, closing at 53,358.71. Energy and technology giant SoftBank Group Corp. helped lift the benchmark, gaining 3.7%, following reports it plans to invest more in OpenAI.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 2.6% to 27,826.91, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.3% to 4,151.24.
Taiwan's Taiex advanced 1.5%, while the Sensex in India gained 0.3%.
In energy markets, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 40 cents to $62.79 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, adding 33 cents to $66.92 per barrel.
