U.S. stock futures were flat Wednesday, one day after the Nasdaq erased earlier losses as bitcoin staged an intraday comeback. The tech-heavy index climbed to a record close. The S&P 500 finished just shy of last week’s record close. Microsoft became the second company to surpass a $2 trillion market value, achieving that mark during Tuesday’s session. Apple, currently worth $2.2 trillion, was the first. Like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, the Dow on Tuesday also logged its second straight positive session. But after last week’s plunge, the 30-stock average still needs to add nearly 2.5% to top its latest record high close in early May.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s latest reassurances about inflation put a lid on bond yields. The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed early Wednesday, trading around 1.47%. But even with U.S. oil prices topping $73 per barrel in this year’s 52% surge, Powell continued to attribute most of the recent inflation surge to factors closely tied to the economic recovery from the pandemic. The Fed chief told the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on Tuesday that the U.S. is unlikely to face a repeat of 1970s-style hyperinflation, primarily because of the central bank’s commitment to price stability.
