U.S. stock index futures rose sharply Wednesday, adding to the previous session’s gains as investors digested less hawkish comments from President Donald Trump, on China and the Federal Reserve, as well as more corporate earnings. 

At 05:45 ET (09:45 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 600 points, or 1.5%,  S&P 500 Futures gained 104 points, or 2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 440 points, or 2.4%.

The main Wall Street indices registered strong gains on Tuesday, helped by a mix of improving sentiment, positive earnings, and a heavy measure of bargain buying, with the S&P 500 rallying 2.5%, the NASDAQ Composite gained 2.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.7%. 

Trump backtracks on Powell, touts softer stance on China

Sentiment has received a boost after Trump backtracked on some of his criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, claiming that he did not intend to fire him. 

The President had recently launched a social media tirade against Powell, egging him to cut interest rates or risk a U.S. economic slowdown. Trump had also called for his removal, ramping up concerns over the Fed’s independence.

Trump also presented a less hawkish stance on China, stating that his administration was “doing fine with China” and other countries, even after he recently ramped up tariffs on Beijing to 145%. 

Trump said that high tariffs on China will come down “substantially,” but “it won’t be zero.” 

Trump’s comments on China came after reports showed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent viewed the ongoing U.S.-China trade war as unsustainable, and that he expected a deescalation soon. 

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This drummed up some hopes for a less severe trade war between the world’s biggest economies, which has been a major drag on sentiment in recent weeks. 

Tesla rises as Musk vows to reduce DOGE activity

In the corporate sector, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock jumped over 6% premarket, after the electric vehicle manufacturer after the close Tuesday reported first-quarter profits at its core auto business that were better than rock-bottom estimates.

Also contributing to the positive tone was the news that CEO Elon Musk plans to reduce the time he devotes to the Trump administration from next month and spend more time concentrating on running his many companies.

Musk has become a close confidant of Trump, and has played a major role in an effort to downsize the federal government through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

But his political activities have caused a backlash that has begun to bleed into his myriad business interests, especially Tesla, which has faced widespread protests and vandalism at its showrooms. Slumping sales at the electric carmaker have also fueled investor calls for Musk to re-focus on managing the company.

On Wednesday, prior to the market open, fiber optic connector producer Amphenol (NYSE:APH), electrical component designer TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) and data center services provider Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) are due to report. After the bell, eyes will be on IBM (NYSE:IBM), software group ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW), and semiconductor firm Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN).

Crude rises on tighter Iran sanctions

Oil prices rose Wednesday, continuing the previous session’s positive tone after the U.S. imposed fresh sanctions on Iran.

At 05:45 ET, Brent futures climbed 1.1% to $68.20 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.3% to $64.48 a barrel.

Both contracts settled nearly 2% higher on Tuesday.

The U.S. issued new sanctions targeting Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil shipping magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh on Tuesday.

This action is part of Washington’s broader strategy to curtail Iran’s energy revenues, which are believed to fund destabilizing activities in the Middle East.

Additionally, {{8849|U.S. crude oil inventories fell by around 4.6 million barrels last week, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute. 

Official numbers on oil stockpiles are due later in the session.