Stock market today: Wall Street mostly quiet ahead of July Fourth holiday, jobs report Friday

Wall Street leaned toward miniscule gains before the bell Wednesday ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

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

Paramount Global jumped another 13% in off-hours trading as more reports surfaced that a deal to merge with movie production company Skydance Media was imminent. The companies appeared to be headed for a merger in June, but the deal hit a snag when Paramount largest shareholder, Shari Redstone's National Amusements, said the two sides could not agree on terms. Paramount's early gain Wednesday follows a 5.7% jump on Tuesday.

Tesla was also headed for more gains after Elon Musk's electric car company beat sales expectations on Tuesday. Tesla rose 2.3% before the bell following gains of more than 10% Tuesday and 6% Monday.

Coming later Wednesday is the Labor Department's latest report on jobless claims, followed by the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting.

At that meeting, the Fed left its benchmark lending rate alone for the seventh straight time. The Fed has kept its rate at roughly 5.3% for nearly a year after rapidly raising rates in a bid to squelch the inflation that took root as America rebounded from the brief but deep pandemic recession.

Markets gained on Tuesday after comments by Fed chief Jerome Powell raised hopes for interest rate cuts.

Speaking at a conference of central bankers in Portugal, Powell gave a nod to improvements in inflation data after some disappointingly high readings early in the year. Investors hope inflation will slow enough to convince the Fed to lower its main interest rate, which has been sitting at its highest level in more than two decades and pressing the brakes on the economy.

The Fed's next meeting is at the end of this month, but few experts are expecting a rate cut then. However, investors are betting that there is nearly a 70% chance for a reduction at the Fed’s meeting in September.

The week’s most anticipated economic data will arrive on Friday, when the U.S. government reports the total jobs employers added in June.

In Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 rose 1.6%, Germany's DAX gained 1% and Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.6%.

In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% to finish at 40,580.76. Among Tokyo technology-related shares, Kyocera Corp. jumped 3.1% while Murata Manufacturing Co. surged 6.4%.

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

The U.S. dollar rose to 161.91 Japanese yen on Wednesday from 161.44 yen late Tuesday. The euro cost $1.0760, up from $1.0743.

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

Crude oil prices have largely been rising on expectations for strong demand during the summer, as well as the possibility of hurricanes damaging oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Beryl is roaring through the Caribbean.

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

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 added 0.6%, topping its all-time high set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8%, besting its own record set a day earlier.