S&P 500 futures rise after earnings lift the index to a second winning day: Live updates

Crypto
investment
firm
Grayscale
took
the
next
step
in
the
push
for
an
ether
exchange-traded
fund
on
Tuesday.

The
firm
filed
a

Form
S-3
with
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
for
the


Grayscale
Ethereum
Trust
(ETHE),
part
of
the
process
of
converting
that
fund
into
an
ETF.

Grayscale
also

filed
to
create
a
Grayscale
Ethereum
Mini
Trust,
which
would
presumably
have
a
lower
management
fee
than
the
ETHE.

While
the
SEC
gave
a
green
light
to
bitcoin
ETFs
earlier
this
year,
the
regulator
has
not
yet
approved
an
ethereum
ETF.
Industry
experts
expect
an
update
sometime
next
month,
though
many
are

skeptical
of
an
approval.

Grayscale
was
a
key
part
of
the
push
to
get
a
bitcoin
ETF
approved,
including
suing
the
SEC.
The

Grayscale
Bitcoin
Trust
(GBTC)
is
the
biggest
bitcoin
ETF,
though
it
has
suffered
outflows
since
its
conversion
in
January.

—
Jesse
Pound

“[G]rowth
is
strong;
inflation
on
the
Fed’s
preferred
measure
hasn’t
slowed
as
much
as
expected;
and
officials
have
probably
been
spooked
by
the
concerns
about
the
stickiness
of
inflation,”
wrote
Capital
Economics’
group
chief
economist
Neil
Shearing
on
Monday.
“It
makes
sense
that
the
Fed
will
push
back
rate
cuts
to
later
this
year:
Absent
an
economic
shock,
there’s
no
rush
to
cut.”

The
thinking
at
London-based
Capital
Economics
is
that
it
makes
more
sense
for
the
European
Central
Bank
and
the
Bank
of
England
to
loosen
monetary
policy
before
the
U.S.
“Growth
in
these
economies
is
weaker,
inflation
is
closer
to
target,
and
having
chased
the
Fed
up
there’s
a
risk
that
policy
will
become
too
tight
as
more
households
and
firms
refinance
fixed
rate
debt.”

Neither
central
bank
has
to
wait
for
the
Fed
to
go
first,
Shearing
said.
Both
have
moved
independently
of
the
Fed
in
prior
economic
cycles.

Markets
are
too
pessimistic
about
interest
rate
policy
in
the
back
half
of
2024
and
in
2025,
Capital
Economics
said.
“Developments
on
the
inflation
front
have
muddied
the
waters,
but
we
still
expect
the
Fed,
ECB and
Bank
of
England
to
cut
interest
rates
by
more
than
markets
are
currently
pricing
in
over
the
next
18
months.
And
we
think
the
ECB
and
BoE
will
move
in
June
—
even
if
the
Fed
now
waits
until
September
to
make
its
first
move.”  

—
Scott
Schnipper

Don’t
look
now,
but
the
S&P
500
Financials
are
outperforming
the
broad
market,
as
measured
by
the
S&P
500,
by
9.3%
to
6.3%
so
far
in
2024.
They
are
even
beating
the
S&P
500
Tech
Index’s
6.1%
gain
this
year.

“Banks
Remain
Strong
Globally,”
trumpeted
Tuesday
morning’s
note
to
clients
from
Strategas
Securities’
technical
and
macro
research
team
led
by
Chris
Verrone.
“Among
the
more
impressive
responses
to
the
market’s
nascent
oversold
condition
has
come
from
the
Financials,
with
the
sector
again
pushing
to
fresh
relative
performance
highs,”
Strategas
said.
“Some
25
Russell
1000
Financial
constituents
found
their
way
onto
[Monday’s]
3-month
relative
high
list,
with
the
Capital
Markets,
Banks,
and
Consumer
Finance
names
leading
the
push.”

The
25
financial
stocks
at
relative
highs
ranged
from


Bank
of
America
with
a
market
value
of
almost
$300
billion,
all
the
way
down
to


SLM
Corp.,
at
about
$5
billion.

Relative
strength
in
financial
stocks
is
not
confined
to
the
U.S.
either.
“Globally,
the
European
and
Japanese
Banks
have
also
retained
their
leadership
advantage
as
the
broader
market
has
consolidated/corrected,”
Strategas
said.
ADRs
in
British
bank


Barclays,
for
example,
are
ahead
22.5%
in
2024,
topping
even
the
16.6%
rally
in
S&P
500
Communication
Services
stocks.

—
Scott
Schnipper

Here
are
some
of
the
names
posting
sizable
moves
in
after-hours
trading:

• 
  
  Tesla
  —
  The
  electric
  vehicle
  maker
  rallied
  8.2%
  despite
  missing
  expectations
  on
  both
  lines.
  Tesla
  shared
  its
  new
  initiative
  around
  offering
  an
  affordable
  model.
• 
  
  Mattel
  —
  The
  toymaker
  jumped
  2.4%
  after
  reporting
  narrower
  losses
  per
  share
  than
  Wall
  Street
  expected.
• 
  
  Visa
  —
  The
  finance
  name
  rose
  2.6%
  following
  its
  better-than-expected
  earnings
  report.

See
the
full
list
here.

—
Alex
Harring

S&P
500
futures
traded
up
shortly
after
6
p.m.
ET.

Futures
tied
to
the
benchmark
index
added
0.2%,
while
Nasdaq
100
futures
rose
0.4%.

Dow
futures
added
just
7
points,
trading
marginally
above
the
flatline.

—
Alex
Harring