Stocks Finish at Records, Ethereum Notches a Fresh All-Time High
Stocks finish at records, while futures today float flat. Ethereum soars to a new all-time high. Tesla stock drops on a Musk tweet.
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Principal Points
- Stocks on Wall Street and in Europe sit at all-time highs, US futures flat on Wednesday
- Ether soars to a fresh record high, Tesla stock drops on a single tweet by Elon Musk
What’s Moving in the Markets?
US stock futures are trading flat early Wednesday as traders prepare to enter the day. Following a record-setting run over the past three days, all three major indexes closed at all-time highs. This said, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 36,000 milestone for the first time ever.
Moreover, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished Tuesday’s session at records. In addition, European markets also closed their Tuesday deal-making at all-time high valuations.
Continuing with the series of records, the Ethereum token notched a new all-time high today. The second-biggest token pushed to a session peak of $4,640 a coin, up about 3.5% on the day. While presently Ether is trading near $4,590, the digital asset is in its third straight day of solid gains.
Over the past three days, Ether has accelerated more than 10% as crypto markets cheer its progress. In more detail, the latest sign of mainstream adoption came from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). On that note, the CME announced Tuesday it is planning to launch Micro Ether futures with a size of 0.1 ETH.
What’s the Big Picture for Traders?
The broader financial markets on Wednesday are bringing a flurry of events and developments. On the one hand, the US Federal Reserve will hold a press conference. On the other, wild swings in individual assets are attracting investor focus.
First, the US Fed concludes its two-day policy meeting today with a speech by Chairman Jerome Powell. In it, Mr. Powell will highlight how the central bank intends to deal with growing pressures and challenges. Among them, surging inflation and tight labor-market conditions.
In addition, the Fed Chair will also address the expected easing of monetary policies. In other words, he will most likely lay out a timeline describing the unwinding of monetary support. To this end, the $120 billion in monthly asset purchases are expected to be reduced as early as November.
And second, individual stocks like Tesla are increasingly jittery these past few sessions.
What to Watch in the Markets?
With this in mind, traders and investors will be closely watching how Tesla stock performs today. The electric-vehicle maker was taking out valuation milestones day in and day out. Furthermore, Tesla stock peaked at an all-time closing high of $1,208 per share.
On Tuesday, however, a single tweet by its chief executive, Elon Musk, put the rally on hold. “I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet,” Mr. Musk said, referring to the Hertz deal.
Late in October, Hertz, a rental-car company, announced it will purchase 100,000 Tesla cars. As a result, Wall Street praised the news and lifted Tesla’s market valuation above $1 trillion. On Tuesday, however, the stock turned sour and finished lower by about 3% after Elon Musk’s comments on Twitter.
Economic Data Coming Up Today (EST times)
The biggest event of the day is the press conference by Fed Chair Jerome Powell slated for 02:30 pm. Before that, at 08:15 am, the ADP nonfarm employment change for October will be released. Also, at 02:00, the Federal Reserve will publish its statement and interest rate decision.