Stock futures rose, supported by Nike and FedEx earnings

Stock futures rose early Wednesday, as sentiment got a boost from strong earnings from Nike and FedEx.

Futures contracts related to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 236 points, or 0.71%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4%.

Nike shares rose 12% after the clothing maker’s win Wall Street quarterly earnings and revenue forecasts. Meanwhile, FedEx gained 4.7% as the package delivery giant Exceeded consensus ratings on earnings per share. But the company did not live up to expectations in terms of revenue.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones rose more than 92 points, or roughly 0.3%. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained slightly by 0.01%. All three major indices snapped a four-day losing streak, bringing some wind back into hopes of a year-end rally.

The modest gains came even after the Bank of Japan moved to expand its cap on the 10-year Japanese government bond yield, which led to a rally in the 10-year US Treasury yield that initially unnerved traders.

“Let’s focus on the positive… From a fundamental perspective, the market took a pretty good hit and got back on its feet,” Joe Terranova of Virtus Investment Partners said on CNBC.Closing bell: overtime” Tuesday.

He added that there is “a huge amount of flexibility” in the market, saying that should be the focus for investors through 2023.

Investors await another batch of data due Wednesday morning, starting with the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly measurement of home loan applications nationwide. Traders will also get updates on existing home sales and consumer confidence data.

There are a few big names left to report earnings before the Christmas holidays. RiteAid and Cintas will report before the bell Wednesday. Micron will report back after the buzzer.