The housing starts report, as well as FOMC minutes, might attract some attention on Wednesday.
An increase in the number of children in Covid-19 cases mainly due to the Delta variant is a real concern in the U.S.
The U.S. administration is keenly observing the exit of people, including U.S. citizens from Afghanistan as the Taliban is taking control of the country.
Asian shares finished higher, while European shares are trading lower.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly lower.
As of 7.45 am ET, the Dow futures were down 65.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 3.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 10.50 points.
The U.S. major averages remained firmly negative on Tuesday. The Dow slumped 282.12 points or 0.8 percent to 35,343.28, the Nasdaq tumbled 137.58 points or 0.9 percent to 14,656.18 and the S&P 500 slid 31.63 points or 0.7 percent to 4,448.08.
On the economic front, the Commerce and Housing & Urban Development department’s Housing Starts, and Permits for July will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 1.61 million, while it was up 1.64 million in the prior month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Petroleum Status Report for the week will be released at 10.30 am ET. In the previous week, the crude oil inventories were down 0.4 million barrels and gasoline inventories were down 1.4 million barrels.
Twenty-year Treasury Bond auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
The Federal Open Market Committee or FOMC minutes will be issued at 2.00 pm ET.
Asian stocks advanced Wednesday. Chinese and Hong Kong shares rebounded. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose 38.31 points, or 1.11 percent, to 3,485.29 after having lost as much as 2 percent the previous day. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended up 121.14 points, or 0.47 percent, at 25,867.01.
Japanese shares ended higher to snap a four-day losing streak. The Nikkei average rose 161.44 points, or 0.59 percent, to 27,585.91, while the broader Topix index closed 0.44 percent higher at 1,923.97.
Australian markets ended a range-bound session slightly lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 8.90 points, or 0.12 percent, to 7,502.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 2.60 points at 7,770.70.
European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is sliding 24.72 points or 0.36 percent. The German DAX is losing 7.79 points or 0.05 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is down 20.10 points or 0.28 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is adding 72.51 points or 0.58 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.15 percent.
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