Stock futures dip after Nasdaq rally as investors digest corporate profits

Stock futures fell Wednesday evening as investors hoped to build on a strong start to the week amid a flurry of corporate earnings.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76 points, or about 0.2%. S&P 500 futures are down 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures are down more than 0.3%.

The movement in futures comes as Wall Street enjoys a rebound in July, with the three major averages It reached its highest level in more than a month.

The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped nearly 1.6% on Wednesday, its fourth positive session in five. The tech heavy index is up about 3.9% this week.

Meanwhile, the Dow and S&P 500 rose for a third day in four days. The blue-chip index is up about 1.9% for the week, while the S&P 500 is up 2.5% so far.

“It looks like the bulls are back in the market now,” said Kaley Cox, US investment analyst at eToro. “We have seen very sharp rises in technology, cryptocurrencies and other risk assets over the past few days.” “And that’s quite noteworthy for us, because in an economy that has some significant weakness in it, you’d expect to see other parts of the market doing well. But the animal spirit is back, at least for the time being.”

In the early weeks of earnings season, corporate results have largely held up so far, helping to allay fears about an impending recession.

However, reports after the bell rang on Wednesday were mostly mixed. Shares of Alcoa and CSX jumped in extended trading after the two companies beat expectations. Tesla shares were volatile after the automaker reported stronger-than-expected earnings but shrunk auto gross margins.

United Airlines reported that it returned to profitability during the second quarter but The results were less than expected. The stock is down more than 6% in extended trading.

In other corporate news, Carnival shares came under pressure after the cruise company announced it was selling An additional $1 billion in equity.

On Thursday, AT&T and American Airlines are two of the many large companies that are due to announce results before the opening bell. Investors will also be watching the Initial Jobless Claims data, which has been trending higher in recent weeks.