Equity futures were searching for direction the morning after President Trump delivered the State of the Union address.
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Trump used his second State of the Union on Tuesday to tout the economic benefits achieved under his administration in the past two years.
From jobs, to energy production and new trade deals, Trump boasted of his achievements while calling on Congress to build upon initiatives from his administration on health care and back new federal funding for campaigns to eliminate AIDs in the U.S. and encourage new treatments for childhood cancers.
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In the address, he cited the tariffs on Beijing as providing the U.S. Treasury “billions of dollars.” Duties in fiscal year 2017 increased by $7 billion, according to federal data.
Dow Jones futures were lower by less than 0.1 percent. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1 percent.
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iN ECONOMIC NEWS, The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in November.
The foreign-trade gap in goods and services fell 11.5% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted $49.3 billion in November, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected the deficit to hit $54.3 billion.
Walt Disney Company shares rose in after-hours trading on Tuesday as the media and entertainment giant posted earnings and revenue that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, in part due to strength in media networks.
The company said first-quarter adjusted earnings per share fell 3 percent to $1.84, topping analysts’ expectation of $1.55, according to Refinitiv data. Quarterly revenue was $15.30 billion, beating an expected $15.14 billion.
Videogame publisher Take-Two Interactive Software disappointed investors on Wednesday with its forecasts for fourth quarter and full-year adjusted revenue, sending its shares down as much as 10 percent.
In Asian markets on Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.1 percent. Markets in Hong Kong and china remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
In Europe, London’s FTSE slipped less than 0.1 percent, Germany’s DAX fell 0.4 percent and France’s CAC was off 0.2 percent.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | %Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 25375.05 | -36.47 | -0.14% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 2737.7 | +12.83 | +0.47% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 7402.0843 | +54.55 | +0.74% |
Major stock indexes rose Tuesday as strong tech and consumer company earnings helped the market post its fifth straight day of gains.
Estée Lauder shares were among the session’s strongest gainers, as the cosmetics company reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue on Tuesday, with net sales passing the $4 billion mark for the first time.
Viacom’s fiscal first-quarter earnings declined but topped analyst estimates and affiliate revenue rose. However, its flagship cable networks suffered a 6 percent decline in advertising revenue.
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In economic news, the U.S. services sector expanded at a slower pace in January, a sign uncertainty surrounding the partial government shutdown pinched growth in the first month of the year.
The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 56.7 in January from 58.0 in December.
