Stock market today: Wall Street generally calm before July 4 holiday, jobs report Friday

Wall Street traded marginally higher before the close on Wednesday, ahead of the July 4 holiday.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose less than 0.1% and S&P 500 futures were essentially flat before markets opened in what will be a shortened trading day ahead of the holiday. Markets will be closed Thursday.

Paramount Global jumped 13% in after-hours trading amid fresh reports of an imminent merger deal with film production company Skydance Media. The companies appeared headed toward a merger in June, but the case has hit a snag Paramount's largest shareholder, National Amusements, led by Shari Redstone, said the two sides could not agree on terms of the deal. Paramount's gain Wednesday follows a 5.7% gain Tuesday.

Tesla also heads for further gains after Elon Musk's electric car company Sales beat expectations on TuesdayTesla rose 2.3% before the close after gains of more than 10% on Tuesday and 6% on Monday.

Later Wednesday, the Labor Department will release its latest report on jobless claims, followed by the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting.

At that meeting, the Fed left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the seventh straight time. The Fed has held its rate at around 5.3% for nearly a year after quickly raising it to try to quell inflation that took hold as America recovered from the brief but deep pandemic recession.

Markets rose on Tuesday after Fed chief comments Jerome Powell has raised hopes of lower interest rates.

Speaking at a central bankers' conference in Portugal, Powell nodded to Improving inflation data After disappointing data earlier this year, investors are hoping inflation will slow enough to convince the Fed to cut its key interest rate, which is at its highest level in more than two decades and is holding back the economy.

The Fed's next meeting is scheduled for the end of the month, but few experts expect a rate cut then. However, investors are betting on a nearly 70% chance of a cut at the Fed's September meeting.

The most anticipated economic data of the week will come on Friday, when the U.S. government releases the total number of jobs employers created in June.

In Europe, at midday, the French CAC 40 was up 1.6%, the German DAX was up 1% and the British FTSE 100 was up 0.6%.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.3% to close at 40,580.76 points. Among Tokyo technology stocks, Kyocera Corp. jumped 3.1% while Murata Manufacturing Co. jumped 6.4%.

On the radar is Japan's Nikkei, which could extend its run above the 40,000 level, with overnight strength from the tech sector while the Japanese yen continues to trade at a 38-year low, said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG.

The U.S. dollar was trading at 161.91 yen on Wednesday, down from 161.44 yen late Tuesday. The euro was trading at $1.0760, down from $1.0743 late Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index gained nearly 0.3 percent to 7,739.90 points. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.5 percent to 2,794.01 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.2 percent to 17,978.57 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent to 2,982.38 points.

Crude oil prices rose largely on expectations of strong demand during the summer, as well as the possibility of hurricanes damaging oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Beryl roars across the Caribbean.

U.S. crude oil benchmark was unchanged at $82.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the international benchmark, gained 7 cents to $86.31 a barrel.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index rose 0.6%, surpassing its all-time high set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8%, breaking its own record set the day before.