Stocks Inch Higher after Tuesday Tech Slide

Stock futures inched higher early Wednesday, after investors began the second half with a reduced appetite for technology stocks.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials edged 17 points to 44,824.Futures for the S&P 500 index surrendered 6.25 points, or 0.1%, to 6,242.50Futures for the NASDAQ dumped 63 points, or 0.3%, to 22,829.75.The information technology sector of the S&P 500 – whose constituents include Nvidia, Palantir and Advanced Micro Devices – lost more than 1% on Tuesday, as did the communications services sector. Instead, investors gravitated toward health care and materials names. Gains in Amgen, Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth lifted the 30-stock Dow.Elsewhere, President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending bill narrowly passed the Senate on Tuesday. The measure will return to the House, where there are still hold-outs among GOP lawmakers.On the economic front Wednesday, investors learned private payrolls fell by 33,000 in June, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. The main event in this holiday-shortened week will be June’s big jobs report, due Thursday morning.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index docked 0.6% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.6%Oil prices surged 76 cents to $66.21 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices were ahead $9.10 to $3,258.90 U.S. an ounce.