Investing.com--U.S. stock futures inched higher Wednesday, as investors digested the passage of President Donald Trump’s massive tax-and-spending bill ahead of the release of more important labor market data.
At 05:35 ET (09:35 GMT), Dow Jones Futures gained 75 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 Futures rose 10 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 25 points, or 0.1%.
The main indices traded in narrow ranges on Tuesday, eventually closing in a mixed fashion.
Senate passes Trump’s fiscal bill
The Senate narrowly passed Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” overnight, sending it now to the House of Representatives for final approval -- with a self-imposed July 4 deadline to have the legislation on Trump’s desk looming large.
While Trump has lauded the importance of this bill, the highlight of his legislative agenda, some Republicans have balked at its potential impact on the country’s finances. Nonpartisan observers have flagged that the measures, which include the extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, new tax reductions, and increased spending on defense and border security, will end up expanding the federal debt pile by over $3 trillion.
Trade deal optimism
Away from Capitol Hill, investors are also looking for any progress on trade deals as Trump’s 90-day pause on his sharpest tariffs is set to expire next week.
A trade deal between the U.S. and China was announced last week, while Canada’s last-minute withdrawal of its digital services tax and talk that India was ready to ink a trade deal have boosted hopes for more agreements before Trump’s July 9 deadline.
Trump said he had no plans to extend the July 9 deadline and would instead notify countries of the tariff rates they will face through formal letters.
A Financial Times report stated on Tuesday that the U.S. is now pivoting to narrower, phased trade agreements in a bid to secure quick wins ahead of the deadline.
ADP labor data due
On the economic front Wednesday, investors await ADP’s private payrolls report due before the bell. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate that private employers added 120,000 jobs in June, up sharply from the gain of 37,000 in May.
Data on Tuesday showed that while job openings unexpectedly ticked up in May, hiring weakened, indicating a possible cooling in an otherwise resilient labor picture. Further insight into the health of the labor market is due to come on Thursday, when the all-important nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled to be unveiled.
Pushing for maximum employment, along with corralling inflationary pressures, has long been a key mandate for Fed policymakers.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell stuck to his usual cautious tone in the central bank retreat in Sintra, Portugal, despite Trump’s continued attacks, reiterating a strict data-dependent approach that is set to keep investors extremely sensitive to jobs and inflation figures.
Tesla slumped on renewed Musk-Trump feud
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA ) shares bounced to a degree Wednesday, after hefty losses the previous session following Trump reignited his feud with Elon Musk, accusing the Tesla CEO of benefiting excessively from government subsidies and calling for a review of his company’s federal support.
Trump’s feud with Musk largely stems from the Tesla CEO’s criticism of his tax and spending bill.
Crude prices subdued
Crude prices were little moved Wednesday, as traders digested progress towards an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and a build in U.S. inventories ahead of an upcoming OPEC+ meeting.
President Trump on Tuesday evening said Israel had agreed to the conditions needed to finalize a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, while also urging the Palestinian group to accept the deal.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday that U.S. oil inventories grew 0.68 million barrels in the week to June 27, a build that followed five weeks of deep, outsized draws in U.S. oil stockpiles, and raised some questions over fuel demand in the travel-heavy summer season.
The official government inventory report is due later on Wednesday.
Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article