U.S. stock index futures are signaling a slightly positive open on Wednesday, suggesting equities may push higher after a mixed and uneven performance in the previous session.

Early gains on Wall Street could be led by the energy sector, following a sharp rebound in crude oil prices. Oil has climbed well off its lowest levels since early 2021 after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade targeting sanctioned oil tankers operating in and out of Venezuela.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump labeled the government of President Nicolas Maduro a foreign terrorist organization and said he had ordered a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” entering and leaving Venezuela.

Despite the supportive move in energy prices, overall market activity may remain relatively muted as investors await the release of closely monitored U.S. consumer price inflation data on Thursday.

The Labor Department’s November inflation report could play a key role in shaping expectations for the future path of interest rates.

Markets remained volatile on Tuesday following the subdued trading seen at the start of the week. Major indexes swung between gains and losses throughout the session before finishing mixed.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 54.05 points, or 0.2%, to 23,111.46, while the S&P 500 edged down 16.25 points, or 0.2%, to 6,800.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 302.30 points, or 0.6%, to close at 48,114.26.

The choppy trading environment followed the release of November employment data from the Labor Department. While the report showed job growth exceeded expectations, it followed a sharp contraction in payrolls the previous month.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 in November after falling by 105,000 in October. Economists had forecast an increase of 50,000 jobs.

At the same time, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September, slightly above the anticipated rise to 4.5%. The increase pushed unemployment to its highest level since September 2021, when it reached 4.7%.

Many economists noted that the data strengthens the case for continued interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the near term, while also raising questions about the underlying health of the economy.

“Although the market generally cheers rate cuts, if the Fed is forced to cut rates more aggressively next year because we are headed into a recession, the stock market will drop instead,” said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.

Additional data from the Commerce Department showed U.S. retail sales were largely unchanged in October. Retail spending was flat following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in September, compared with expectations for a 0.2% rise.

However, excluding a sharp decline in auto sales, retail sales rose 0.4% in October after increasing 0.1% in September. Economists had expected ex-auto sales to grow by 0.3%.

Sector performance was mixed during the session. Energy stocks posted notable declines earlier as oil prices plunged to their lowest levels since early 2021. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index fell 4.2%, while the NYSE Arca Oil Index dropped 3.6%.

Pharmaceutical, healthcare and networking shares also saw meaningful losses, while computer hardware stocks managed to recover some ground following recent weakness.

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