U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, as traders tried to regain their footing following back-to-back losing sessions.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 149.87 points, or 0.46%. The S&P 500 gained 0.55% and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.85%, boosted by rising tech stocks. Shares of Amazon, Tesla, Apple and PayPal all opened higher. Earnings season continued, giving investors hope that the market can recover. Moderna and CVS Health both rose after reporting earnings beats. Comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard also boosted sentiment. He told CNBC Wednesday morning that he doesn't think the U.S. is currently in a recession, and that rate hikes to tame high inflation will continue. "We're going to have to see convincing evidence across the board, headline and other measures of core inflation, all coming down convincingly before we'll be able to feel like we're doing our job," Bullard said during a live "Squawk Box" interview. That was similar to earlier comments from Bullard and other Fed leaders. Bullard said Tuesday he was confident that the U.S. economy could achieve a "soft landing." Meanwhile, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the central bank's work to tame inflation is "far from done," while Chicago Fed's Charles Evans said there's a chance for a smaller rate hike at the next monetary policy meeting.Traders shook off anxiety that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan could further strain already tense U.S.-China relations. China had spent weeks warning her not to make the trip. Markets fell further after three Federal Reserve presidents hinted that further rate hikes would be necessary to combat high inflation."Despite the fact most of today's attention is still riveted on the Federal Reserve and its ongoing fight to bring inflation under control, many economic policies have already embarked on a new easing cycle," said The Leuthold Group's Jim Paulsen. "The prospect of lower inflation is not only helping to usher in a new easing cycle but is apt to stoke a private-sector confidence revival that has untapped potential."Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:Traders are also anticipating another batch of second-quarter earnings. Lucid Group and Spirit AeroSystems report after the bell. In economic data, investors this week are awaiting PMI data out Wednesday. They will also be watching the July nonfarm payrolls report, due Friday. Stocks rise at market open Stocks were higher at Wednesday's open, rebounding after two days of losses. The S&P 500 gained 0.73%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.19% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 221.31 points, or 0.68%. — Carmen ReinickeOPEC+ set to increase oil production by tiny amount OPEC and its allies on Wednesday agreed to raise oil production by a small amount, 100,000 barrels per day, in response to President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia last month. During the visit, Biden had aimed to persuade the group's leader to pump more oil to help the U.S. economy and global supply. The miniscule raise is seen as a rebuff. — Carmen ReinickeStarbucks shares tick up after earnings release Shares of Starbucks gained nearly 2% in premarket trading after the coffee chain posted quarterly earnings Tuesday after the bell. The company beat expectations on earnings and revenue, boosted by U.S. demand for cold drinks even amid high inflation. "We had actually record customer counts and record average weekly sales," during the last quarter, Rachel Ruggeri, Starbucks chief financial officer, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." — Carmen ReinickeModerna rises after beating earnings expectationsShares of Moderna rose nearly 4% in premarket trading after the covid-19 vaccine maker posted quarterly results that beat Wall Street's expectations for both profit and revenue. In addition, the company announced $3 billion in share buybacks, and maintained its full-year outlook.— Carmen ReinickePotential earnings revisions are a risk for second half, RBC's Calvasina says This earnings season, results have generally come in higher than Wall Street's expectations, showing that companies are faring current economic conditions better than analysts hoped, RBC head of U.S. equity strategy Lori Calvasina wrote in a Wednesday note. "The good news for the US equity market is that evidence of resilience continues to be seen in corporate earnings," Calvasina said. "The bad news for the US equity market is that the possibility of further downward earnings revisions remains a risk as we get deeper into the 2 nd half of the year."So far, estimates for earnings and revenue in the second half of 2022 and for the full-year 2023 have come down. Still, the strength of corporate earnings this quarter may suggest that any upcoming economic downturn will be short and shallow, according to Calvasina. That's good for stocks now, but could set them up for further volatility. "That's been supportive of stock prices over the past few weeks, but going forward it also tells us that the rally in stocks is fragile given the possibility of further downward earnings revisions as 2023 comes into view," she said. — Carmen ReinickeCVS gains on earnings beatShares of CVS Health rose more than 3% in premarket trading after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings before the opening bell. The company also lifted its earnings outlook for the year, saying health services is helping boost sales. — Carmen ReinickePelosi leaves TaiwanHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday after a visit that increased tensions with China and rattled financial markets a bit.Pelosi met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday. China, which considers the disputed island part of its territory, increased military drills in the Taiwan strait amid her visit. The S&P 500 is down about 1% this week as traders worried about the ramifications of Pelosi's trip for China relations. But the market was set for a bit of a relief rally on Wednesday following her departure.—John MelloyAMD shares fall on weak revenue guidanceShares of AMD traded 5% lower in the premarket after the chipmaker issued third-quarter revenue guidance that was below analyst expectations. AMD said it expects $6.7 billion in revenue for the third quarter, below a Refinitiv forecast of $6.82 billion.The disappointing guidance overshadowed better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the second quarter. —Fred ImbertEuropean markets mixed as cautious sentiment persists; Avast up 42%European stocks were mixed on Wednesday, continuing the cautious regional trend this week.The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2% in early trade, with autos falling 1.5% while tech stocks gained 1.2%.It's a busy day for earnings in Europe, with Commerzbank, SocGen, BMW, Banco BPM, Siemens Healthineers, Veolia and Wolters Kluwer among the companies reporting before the bell.Shares of Czech cybersecurity firm Avast soared 42% after the U.K.'s competition regulator provisionally cleared its $8.6 billion sale to U.S. peer NortonLifeLock.— Elliot SmithFocus on data, not what Fed speakers are saying, Art Hogan saysDespite the "parade of Fed speakers," that's not what investors should focus on, according to Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial."I think that investors have to pay more attention to what the data is telling us than what every individual Fed speaker, whether they're a voter or not, has to say about what our expectations should be," Hogan told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia."Still, he said Fed officials have been able to shift expectations for where Fed policy is heading.St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard on Tuesday said the central bank will need to keep hiking rates, and the Fed funds rate likely will have to go to 3.75%-4% by the end of 2022. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said "our work is far from done" in fighting inflation, while Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said another large rate hike is possible, though he hopes it can be avoided.After last week's meeting, some expected the Fed would continue hiking to reach 3.25%-3.5% before pivoting in 2023, Hogan said."I think the parade of Fed speakers this week has done a pretty good job of pulling that back, tamping down those expectations," he said.— Abigail NgThese stocks are poised for a comeback if inflation peaks, Jefferies saysA slowdown could be on the horizon, and more earnings downgrades ahead have been predicted. If inflation also peaks, as some analysts expect it to, that mix of factors will favor one class of stocks, Jefferies says.Jefferies produced a screen of such stocks that investors can buy, based on a list of metrics which include high profitability, reasonable valuations and good cashflows. Pro subscribers can read the story here.— Weizhen TanPayPal rises on earnings, share buyback announcementPayPal shares soared by more than 11% after hours. The payments company beat analysts' earnings and revenue estimates for the second quarter and issued upbeat full-year guidance. PayPal also announced a $15 billion share repurchasing program.Stock buybacks provide a way for companies to boost their per-share earnings and enhance the value of their stock, particularly while the market across the board suffers steep price declines this year. The company kicked off a $10 billion program four years ago.Elliott Management said it has a $2 billion stake in the payments giant. PayPal announced that it entered an information-sharing agreement on value creation with the activist investor.— Tanaya MacheelDespite Fedspeak about fighting inflation, an ‘easing cycle’ is emerging says Leuthold’s Jim PaulsenLeuthold Group chief investment strategist Jim Paulsen said that despite the Federal Reserve's "ongoing lip service toward fighting inflation" by tightening monetary policy, there are several factors that suggest the market may be entering an "emerging easing cycle."Bond yields have achieved a sizable rate cut, the dollar is finally rolling over and junk spreads have pulled back, he said in a note to investors late Tuesday. "The media, policy officials, and investors focus primarily on the war against inflation and how aggressively the Fed will need to keep hiking rates," Paulsen said. "Yet, with real economic growth already reduced to a crawl and evidence building that inflation is easing, the case for further Fed tightening at its September meeting is rapidly falling apart.""Investors should place appropriate weight on the leading nature of economic policies," he added. "Tightening today means lower real and nominal growth tomorrow."— Tanaya MacheelMatchGroup shares tumble after hoursShares of the dating app operator Match Group tumbled as much as 23% after the company reported revenue of $795 million for the second quarter, compared with FactSet estimates of $803.9 million. Match also issued weak guidance around adjusted operating income and revenue for the current quarter.— Tanaya Macheel
Stocks rebound after a two-day slide as traders look past U.S.-China tension.