U.S. stock futures were little changed early Wednesday as investors took a pause following a strong start to the week fueled by positive momentum in technology stocks and easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 slipped slightly by 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped by 32 points, or about 0.1%.
The cautious move in futures comes after the S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.6% on Tuesday—marking its fifth consecutive positive session. The Dow, while falling 0.6% due largely to losses in UnitedHealth, remains higher for the week overall.
The S&P 500 has now turned positive for the year, signaling renewed investor confidence. This optimism followed a joint announcement by the U.S. and China on Monday agreeing to a 90-day reduction in tariffs—an encouraging sign for markets wary of prolonged trade disputes.
“It’s a big risk-on sentiment at the moment,” said Lale Akoner, global market analyst at eToro. “While the structural issues between [the U.S. and China] remain unresolved, I think the signal is quite clear that neither side wants to push trade tensions further.”
Technology stocks led the charge on Tuesday, with the sector rising more than 2%. Nvidia jumped over 5% after news broke that the semiconductor leader plans to send more than 18,000 of its artificial intelligence chips to Saudi Arabia, reinforcing the company’s global reach in the AI boom.
Major tech names continued their winning streaks: Apple has posted gains for four straight sessions, Amazon is up five in a row, and Disney has climbed for six consecutive days. Financial giant Goldman Sachs has also seen five straight days of gains.
Investors will now be watching for signs of sustained momentum as markets look to carry the week’s rally forward.
