Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on Oct. 14, 2025 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday night after strong bank earnings shifted investor focus from risks both at home and abroad as a U.S. government shutdown heads into its third week and escalating trade tensions with China persist.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 75 points, or 0.2%. S&P futures rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.2%.
In after-hours trading, J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares jumped more than 11% after the company beat Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations and Salesforce shares rose 3% after the company gave a strong forecast at its annual Dreamforce conference. Shares of United Airlines dipped about 2%, on the other hand, after the airline’s revenue disappointed.
Stocks saw choppy trading on Wednesday, but both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended in the green as investors were encouraged by strong earnings from major banks. The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly below the flatline, but he Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks broke out to a new high.
Volatility has increased this week, particularly as tit-for-tat trade tensions have flared up between the U.S. and China. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), widely referred to as Wall Street’s fear gauge, finished the day at 20.6.
Stocks have seesawed since President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened China with a cooking oil trade ban. The retaliatory move came as Beijing purchased fewer U.S. soybeans due to Trump’s tariffs implemented earlier this year. Trump has also threatened to place an additional 100% tariff on any goods coming from China in response to the country’s new export controls on rare earth minerals. The Trump administration plans to set price floors across a range of industries to combat market manipulation by China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Wednesday.
Separately, investors are keeping a watchful eye as the U.S. government shutdown continues for a third week. The stoppage has led to an indefinite shutdown of crucial economic data releases from federal agencies, giving traders less information at a time when concerns about the labor market, the effect of tariffs on consumers, high interest rates and historically elevated market valuations all remain top of mind.
LPL chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist pointed out that although the S&P 500 has seen a record-setting rally since the start of July, a closer look at market breadth trends show a deviation between price action and stocks’ participation in the run-up. The artificial intelligence trade has powered most of the S&P 500’s recent returns, with shares of technology giants Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, Broadcom and Tesla collectively accounting for 60% of the broader market’s total return between July 1 and Oct. 14, he said.
“While the trend model shows that there are still more S&P 500 stocks trading in uptrends vs. downtrends, the narrowing gap highlights emerging cracks in the market’s foundation,” Turnquist said in a Wednesday note to clients. “These cracks can be repaired through broadening participation, but they also underscore the elevated concentration risk tied to a handful of dominant names driving the rally.”
