S&P 500 Index opens slightly lower, energy stocks post strong gains
- Wall Street's main indexes opened modestly lower on Wednesday.
- Energy stocks gain traction on the back of rising crude oil prices.
- Focus shifts to preliminary Markit Manufacturing and Services PMI data.
After managing to close in the positive territory on Tuesday, major equity indexes in the US started the day with small losses on Wednesday. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.18% on the day at 33,888, the S&P 500 was losing 0.15% at 4,240 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 0.06% at 14,262.
Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is up 1% supported by rising crude oil prices. Boosted by a Wall Street Journal report saying that the OPEC+ will ramp up its output by 500K next week, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose above $74 for the first time since October 2018.
On the other hand, the defensive Utilities Index is losing 0.45% after the opening bell.
Later in the session, the IHS Markit's preliminary Manufacturing and Services PMI reports for June will be watched closely by market participants.
S&P 500 (ES SPY) Technical Forecast: Buy the dip or get chopped up.
S&P 500 chart (daily)
