- Wall Street mixed at the close
- Fed chair reiterates interest rate cuts
- Services PMI figures due
4:15pm: Stocks flat as Powell signals rate cuts
Stocks were little changed at the close as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the likelihood of interest rate cuts this year amid a "bumpy" path for inflation.
Powell, speaking at Stanford University, reaffirmed expectations for rate cuts, although investors had scaled back hopes following strong economic data. Stocks rebounded after a services sector price reading signaled potential future inflation declines, contrasting with earlier manufacturing sector data.
At the close, the S&P 500 had gained 0.1% to end Wednesday at 5,211, while the Dow Jones had reversed 0.1% to 39,127. The Nasdaq climbed over 0.2%, finishing at 16,277 to halt its early-week declines.
In corporate news, Disney successfully defended against activist investor Nelson Peltz's bid for board seats, with its stock dipping over 3%.
The Energy sector was a top performer on the S&P 500..
12.20pm: Wall Street recovers early losses
The Nasdaq was up 0.3% to 18,184 come midday despite opening the Wednesday session lower, supported by a better-than-expected ADP jobs report.
Some 184,000 new jobs were added to the sector in March, beating out Wall Street's estimates of a 148,000 rise.
Top daily risers include Fortinet, Micron, Broadcom and Meta.
Intel remains the biggest intraday faller among the blue chips following yesterday’s underwhelming foundry sales report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last seen flat at 39,196, while the broader S&P 500 index was up around 0.3% to 5,219.
9.40am: Wall Street opens lower
Wall Street has opened lower as all three main indexes continue to suffer from a sharp sell-off and macro data which indicates the US is recovering well.
The Dow Jones opened 30 points lower at 39,140 while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell by 2 and 42 points respectively.
While much of the market's focus will be on comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell during his speech later today, there has been slight movement in equities.
Intel slumped more than 6% after it revealed it had suffered a growing operating loss within its semiconductor manufacturing division.
Both Paramount and Tesla have kept flat despite the two entering important points in their histories.
For Paramount, reports have indicated it has entered into an exclusive sale discussion with media company Skydance.
Meanwhile, Tesla, a day after it reported a sales miss, has been downgraded by both Guggenheim and Deutsche Bank over the weakness of its operations.
9.01am: US job growth beats out expectations
The number of new jobs in the US private sector rose by more than analysts had initially expected in March, data from ADP revealed.
A better-than-expected payrolls report adds to a string of data which indicates the US industry is going from strength to strength.
Some 184,000 new jobs were added to the sector in March, beating out Wall Street's estimates of a 148,000 rise.
Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, said: "March was surprising not just for the pay gains, but the sectors that recorded them.
"The three biggest increases for job-changers were in construction, financial services, and manufacturing.
"Inflation has been cooling, but our data shows pay is heating up in both goods and services."
8.41am: US markets to open lower
Wall Street is set to open slightly lower on Wednesday ahead of Fed chair Jerome Powell's speech at Stanford later today.
The markets are expected to listen closely to what Powell has to say regarding interest rate cuts and whether plans for a first in summer have been scrapped.
It come after Monday's strong ISM Manufacturing PMI figures highlighted that the US economy is "booming" and therefore may not need a rate cut in June.
David Morrisson at Trade Nation said: "Later today we get an update on the services side of the US economy with the release of the ISM Services PMI. The sector continues to show modest expansion. But if that also shows a sharper-than-expected pick-up, then yields could have further to rise."
The Dow Jones is set to open around 13 points lower at 39,506, while the S&P 500 is scheduled to begin trading around 4 points lower at 5,258.
The Nasdaq is also looking likely to open lower, around 34 points weaker at 18,323.