Energy Stocks May Help Lead Early Upward Move On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to move to the upside following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.

Energy stocks may help lead an early upward move on Wall Street amid a substantial rebound by the price of crude oil.

The price of crude oil is bouncing well off its lowest levels since early 2021 after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela.

In a Truth Social post, Trump declared the government of President Nicolas Maduro a foreign terrorist organization and said he was ordering a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” going into and leaving Venezuela.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of a closely watched report on consumer price inflation on Thursday.

The Labor Department’s report on consumer price inflation in the month of November could impact the outlook for interest rates.

Following the lackluster performance seen during Monday’s session, stocks continued to experience choppy trading on Tuesday. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the trading day before eventually closing on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 54.05 points or 0.2 percent to 23,111.46, the S&P 500 slipped 16.25 points or 0.2 percent to 6,800.26 and the Dow slid 302.30 points or 0.6 percent to 48,114.26.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came following the release of the Labor Department’s report on employment in the month of November.

While report showed stronger than expected job growth in November, the increase followed a notable loss of jobs in October.

The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 64,000 jobs in November after tumbling by 105,000 jobs in October. Economists had expected employment to rise by 50,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in November from 4.4 percent in September. The unemployment rate was expected to tick up to 4.5 percent.

With the bigger than expected increase, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting 4.7 percent in September 2021.

Most economists said the data has increased the likelihood the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the near future, but the report also raised concerns about the strength of the economy.

“Although the market generally cheers rate cuts, if the Fed is forced to cut rates more aggressively next year because we are headed into a recession, the stock market will drop instead,” said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. were roughly flat in the month of October.

The Commerce Department said retail sales were virtually unchanged in October after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in September.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.2 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.

However, excluding a steep drop in auto sales, retail sales climbed by 0.4 percent in October after edging up by 0.1 percent in September. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

While many of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, energy stocks saw substantial weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.

With the price of crude oil plummeting to its lowest levels since early 2021, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plunged by 4.2 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index tumbled by 3.6 percent.

Pharmaceutical, healthcare and networking stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while computer hardware stocks regained some ground following recent weakness.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are jumping $1.06 to $56.33 a barrel after plunging $1.55 to $55.27 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,365.70, up $33.40. compared to the previous session’s close of $4,332.30. On Tuesday, gold slipped $2.90.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.44 yen compared to the 154.71 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1724 compared to yesterday’s $1.1746.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday after two days of losses. Investors digested mixed U.S. employment data and looked ahead to Thursday’s inflation data for fresh insights into the U.S. economic and interest rate outlook.

The dollar edged up from 2-1/2-month lows in Asian trading and Treasuries trimmed recent gains, while gold held firm around $4,320 per ounce.

Oil prices jumped more than 1 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was ordering a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” going into and leaving Venezuela.

Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rose sharply, with technology stocks leading the surge. China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.2 percent to 3,870.28, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.9 percent to 25,468.78.

MetaX Integrated Circuits, a Chinese chipmaker, saw its shares skyrocketing nearly 700 percent on their debut.

Japanese markets eked out modest gains after data showed the country’s trade balance grew much more than expected in November, lifted by a 6.1 percent year-on-year surge in exports.

Separate data revealed that Japan’s core machinery orders, which exclude volatile sectors such as ships and electric power, spiked 7 percent month-over-month in October.

The Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.3 percent to 49,512.98, rebounding from a two-week low hit in the previous session before the Bank of Japan’s rate decision due this week. The broader Topix Index finished marginally lower at 3,369.39.

Tech shares followed their U.S. peers higher, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron rising over 1 percent each. Robot maker Fanuc surged 2.1 percent.

Seoul stocks rallied as benchmark bond yields fell, the Korean won weakened against the dollar and chip makers rebounded from declines earlier in the week. The Kospi shot up 1.4 percent to 4,056.41, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix jumping 4-5 percent.

Australian markets ended slightly lower to extend losses for a third day running. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 0.2 percent to 8,585.20, with banks leading losses after the government revised its inflation forecast higher, reinforcing views the RBA will raise interest rates in February. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended marginally lower at 8.874.20.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index slumped 1.0 percent to 13,295.91, hitting a one-month low on worries about a growing trade deficit.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Wednesday ahead of central bank decisions from the European Central Bank, Sweden’s Riksbank, the Bank of England, and Norway’s Norges Bank due this week.

Investors cheered data that showed U.K. inflation slowed more than expected in November.

The consumer price index rose 3.2 percent year-on-year, slower than the 3.6 percent increase in October, the Office for National Statistics said. Inflation was forecast to ease marginally to 3.5 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, softened to 3.2 percent from 3.4 percent in the previous month.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent.

The British pound weakened against the dollar in response to softer than expected inflation data.

Proximus shares have moved notably lower. The provider of digital services and communication solutions said its CFO, Mark Reid, will leave at the end of January 2026 to pursue other career opportunities in the U.K.

Distribution and services giant Bunzl has also tumbled after reiterating its 2025 guidance for adjusted operating profit.

Meanwhile, outsourcing firm Serco Group has surged after it forecast profit ahead of analyst expectations for this year and next.

U.S. Economic News

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is scheduled to deliver opening remarks before the 2025 FX Market Structure Conference at 9:05 am ET.

At 10:30 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on crude oil inventories in the week ended December 12th. Crude oil inventories are expected to decrease by 1.1 million barrels after falling by 1.8 million barrels in the previous week.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic is scheduled to participate in a discussion on the economic outlook before the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce at 12:30 pm ET.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $13 billion worth of twenty-year bonds.