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LivestreamMenuTraders work at the New York Stock Exchange on May 28, 2026. NYSE
U.S. stock futures were little changed early Wednesday after all three major indexes closed at fresh records during the regular session.
Futures for S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 traded near the flatline. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 17 points, or less than 0.01%.
Late Tuesday, the Kuwait army said in a social media post that air defense systems were “intercepting hostile targets.” U.S. Central Command later said that American forces defeated Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and they also carried out “self-defense strikes” on Qeshm Island “in response to attempted attacks by Iran across the Middle East.”
The major averages notched new record closes on Tuesday. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.13% to end above 7,600 for the first time ever, while the Dow added 228.91 points, or 0.45%. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a gain of 0.03%.
Meghan Shue, head of investment strategy at Wilmington Trust, noted that if the S&P 500 ends this week higher, it would mark the 10th straight positive week in a row, the longest positive streak since 1985. She believes that as summer begins, stocks could be due for a bit of a breather ahead.
“The momentum has been incredibly strong. It’s for a lot of good reasons, and a lot of optimism, as well as really strong demand around the AI investment cycles. But still we are moving into a period, sort of moving past earning season, which has been a tremendously positive catalyst for the markets,” she said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday afternoon. “Now we are left with kind of the summer lull. Trading activity might slow a little bit, and we still have a lot of geopolitical risk on the horizon.”
Shue added: “I’m not necessarily calling for a sharp reversion in the market, but I think it makes a lot of sense to see it pause here, or even pull back slightly and introduce a little bit more volatility as we move into the summer months.”
Medtronic and Macy’s will report earnings before Wednesday’s opening bell. On the economic front, traders will also watch for the ADP private payrolls report for May, as well as April’s final durable goods and factory orders on Wednesday morning.
3 Hours Ago
Japan’s Nikkei hit record high among broad gains other Asia markets amid Middle East concerns
Asia-Pacific markets opened broadly higher Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 hitting a record high, as investors appeared to look past uncertainty over U.S.-Iran negotiations aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 extended early gains to rise 2.14%, while the Topix added 1.52%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 was marginally higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.98%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.36% as the country reported GDP growth of 2.5% year on year for the first three months this year, missing economists’ expectations of 2.6%. Growth was pressured by weaker household spending, lower government consumption, as well as impact from severe weather disruption to the mining industry.
South Korea’s markets were closed for a holiday.
— Justina Lee
5 Hours Ago
Seven of the 11 GICS sectors end Tuesday higher
Seven of the 11 GICS sectors rose on Tuesday.
Utilities stocks were the day’s leaders, gaining 1.93%. The cohort was followed by the materials and industrials sectors, which respectively added 1.16% and 1%.
On the other hand, the lagging sector of the day was communication services, down 2.61%. Health care, consumer discretionary and consumer staples also ended the day lower, respectively sliding 0.99%, 0.71% and 0.10%.
— Lisa Kailai Han
5 Hours Ago
Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: Palo Alto Networks, GitLab and Ulta Beauty
These are the stocks moving the most in extended-hours trading:
Palo Alto Networks — The cybersecurity stock erased earlier gains and fell almost 3%. Palo Alto posted stronger-than-expected revenue guidance for its current quarter and lifted its full-year revenue guidance. The company also reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of 85 cents per share on $3 billion in revenue, beating the earnings of 80 cents and $2.94 billion in revenue that analysts had expected, per LSEG.
GitLab — Shares tumbled 5% after the software company guided for adjusted earnings in its current quarter of 17 cents to 18 cents, while analysts polled by LSEG had penciled in 19 cents. GitLab also said that it would reduce its full-time workforce by approximately 14%, or 350 team members and exit 22 countries. The company also expects to incur between $30 million and $35 million in pretax restructuring charges.
Ulta Beauty — The beauty stock added 1% after lifting the range for its full-year earnings guidance. Ulta reported first-quarter earnings of $7.74 per share, beating the $6.86 a shareanalysts were expecting, per LSEG. Its $3.16 billion revenue also exceeded the $3.10 billion estimate.
— Lisa Kailai Han
7 Hours Ago
Stock futures are little changed
Stock futures traded near flat on Tuesday night.
Shortly after 6 p.m. ET, futures tied to all three major indexes were trading around the flatline.
— Lisa Kailai Han
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