Stocks looked set to struggle on Wednesday as techs came under pressure from concerns about more curbs on AI chip exports, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell due to speak later.
Futures on the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) were firmly lower, with a drop of 0.45%. Futures on the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.19%, while those tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) were broadly unchanged.
Nvidia led declines for techs after The Wall Street Journal reported the Commerce Department is considering putting more restrictions on AI chip sales to China.
A clutch of robust economic data helped power a stock rally on Tuesday that marked a comeback from a losing streak and kept the major benchmarks on track to close the first half of 2023 with an unexpectedly strong performance.
Markets will watch for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at an ECB event later in the day, on the lookout for clues to the central bank’s next move after the data strengthened the case for more hikes.
Given the signs of a resilient US economy, investors will watch for clues to the Fed’s next moves when Powell joins a panel of peers at an ECB forum on Wednesday morning.
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