Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on October 14, 2025 in New York City.
Michael M Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday evening after strong bank earnings shifted investors' focus away from risks at home and abroad as the U.S. government shutdown enters its third week and escalating trade tensions with China continue.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 75 points, or 0.2%. S&P Futures rose by 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 Futures 0.2% added.
In trading outside office hours, JB Hunt Transport Services Shares rose more than 11% after the company beat Wall Street's profit and revenue expectations Salesforce Shares rose 3% after the company made a strong forecast at its annual Dreamforce conference. Shares of United Airlines in contrast, fell by about 2% after the airline's revenues disappointed.
Stocks saw choppy trading on Wednesday, but both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished in the green as investors were encouraged by strong profits from the big banks. The S&P500 closed higher by 0.4%, while tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly below the flatline, but he Russell 2000 Index of small cap stocks reached a new high.
Volatility has increased this week, especially as trade tensions between the US and China have flared. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX)also known as Wall Street's fear meter, ended the day at 20.6.
Stock prices have fluctuated since President Donald Trump threatened China with a cooking oil trade ban on Tuesday. The retaliation came as Beijing bought fewer U.S. soybeans because of tariffs Trump imposed earlier this year. Trump has also threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on all goods coming from China in response to the country's new export controls on rare earth minerals. The Trump administration plans to set price floors across a range of industries to counter market manipulation by China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Wednesday.
In addition, investors are keeping an eye on things as the US government shutdown continues for a third week. The shutdown has led to an indefinite freeze on the release of crucial economic data from federal agencies, leaving investors with less information at a time when concerns about the labor market, the impact of rates on consumers, high interest rates and historically high market valuations are all high on the agenda.
LPL chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist pointed out that while the S&P500 Since experiencing a record rally in early July, a closer look at market breadth trends reveals a divergence between price action and stock participation in the run-up. Artificial intelligence trading has driven most of the S&P 500's recent returns, with shares of tech giants Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, Broadcom and Tesla collectively accounting for 60% of the broader market's total returns between July 1 and Oct. 14, he said.
“While the trend model shows that more S&P 500 stocks are still trading in up versus down trends, the narrowing gap highlights emerging cracks in the market's fundamentals,” Turnquist said in a note to clients on Wednesday. “These cracks can be repaired by broadening participation, but they also underscore the increased concentration risk associated with a handful of dominant names driving the rally.”
