WALL Street was set to open higher on Wednesday, aided by a dovish turn by Japan's top policymaker after a surprise interest rate hike last week partly sparked heavy volatility in global markets.
Global equity markets gained after Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said the central bank would not raise interest rates when financial markets are unstable, pushing the yen lower and boosting market sentiment.
The BOJ's surprise rate hike on July 31 to a level unseen in 15 years had led to a surge in the low-yielding yen, widely used for acquiring high-yielding assets such as stocks, and sparked a global stocks rout as investors unwound their sharp currency carry trade positions.
"Like many trades that get "crowded", people start to take advantage that it's an easy way to make money and that tends to end badly," said JJ Kinahan, CEO of IG Group North America.
"Things got really overdone really quickly and now, cooler heads are prevailing."
The CBOE Volatility index, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, declined to 23.19 points, from a high of 65.73 on Monday.
Despite recent volatility, the S&P 500 is still up about 10% so far this year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 9%, boosted by rallying technology stocks on optimism around the prospects of artificial intelligence (AI).
Big technology names such as Nvidia and Amazon.com continued their recovery after falling sharply on Monday, rising about 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively, in premarket trading.
Chip stocks also continued to recover, with AMD gaining 1.7%, and Marvell Technology adding 2.6%.
At 8:25 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 52.75 points, or 1%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 214.25 points, or 1.18%, Dow E-minis were up 283 points, or 0.72%.
Wall Street's main indexes ended Tuesday with healthy gains after comments from Federal Reserve officials eased worries of a U.S. recession and the spotlight shifted back to earnings.
Fortinet jumped 15.1% after the cybersecurity firm raised its annual revenue forecast.
Wynn Resorts advanced 3.3% as the casino operator posted a rise in second-quarter profit.
On the flipside, Airbnb slid 13.5% after the company forecast third-quarter revenue below estimates and warned of shorter booking windows, suggesting travelers were waiting until the last minute to book due to economic uncertainty.
Super Micro Computer lost 13.8% after reporting quarterly adjusted gross margins below estimates. Rival Dell Technologies dropped 4%.
Amgen fell 2.6% as its second-quarter profit slipped 1% on higher expenses that offset a 20% increase in revenue.
CVS Health eased 0.6% after the healthcare conglomerate cut its 2024 profit forecast, hit by increased medical costs at its health insurance unit as demand for healthcare services remained elevated.
The markets now await more commentary on monetary policy from U.S. central bank officials next week, in the run-up to the Jackson Hole event where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak. - Reuters
