The U.S. Futures Index points to a bounce-back for Wall Street on Wednesday. Asian shares closed lower, while European shares finished higher.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s second day of testimony on Capitol Hill might attract attention. Investors will be keen on the New Home Sales in the month of January as well as the earnings reports.
On the earnings front, retailers Lowe’s (LOW) and Office Depot (ODP) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results before the start of trading on Wednesday.
As of 7.40 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 41.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 11.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 53.50 points.
The U.S. major indices finished broadly lower on Tuesday. The Dow plunged by more than 360 points in early trading but ended the day up 15.66 points or 0.1 percent at 31,537.35. The S&P 500 also inched up 4.87 points or 0.1 percent to 3,881.37 after tumbling by as much as 71 points.
On the economic front, the Commerce and the Housing and Urban Development department’s New Home Sales for January will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 855K, while it was up 842K in the prior month.
The State Street Investor Confidence Index for February will be released at 10.00 am ET. In the prior month, the Index was at 100.7.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Petroleum Status Report for the week is scheduled at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the Crude Oil Inventories were down 7.3 million barrels, while Gasoline Inventories were up 0.7 million barrels.
The survey of business uncertainty for February is expected at 11.00 am ET. In the prior month, the sales growth was up 4.69 percent and the employment growth was 5.28 percent.
The two-year Treasury Floating Rate Note or FRN auction will be held at 11.30 am ET. Five-year Treasury Note auction is scheduled at 1.00 pm ET.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify on the Semiannual Monetary Report to Congress before virtual hearing of the House Financial Services Committee at 10.00 am ET.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard to give lecture, “The Federal Reserve’s Maximum Employment Mandate” before remote event hosted by Harvard University Principles of Economics class at 10.30 am ET.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida will speak on “U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy” before remote U.S. Chamber of Commerce Chief Economist Committee Meeting at 12.00 pm ET and 4.00 pm ET.
Asian stocks fell on Wednesday. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 72.28 points, or 1.99 percent, to 3,564.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 914.40 points, or 2.99 percent, to 29,718.24.
Japanese shares fell sharply as tech stocks succumbed to selling pressure. The Nikkei average dropped 484.33 points, or 1.61 percent, to 29,671.70. The broader Topix index closed 1.82 percent lower at 1,903.07.
Australian markets retreated. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 61.40 points, or 0.90 percent, to 6,777.80, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 61.40 points, or 0.86 percent, at 7,049.40.
European shares are trading all in green. Among the major indexes in the region, the German DAX is gaining 25.09 points or 0.18 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is adding 15.61 points or 0.23 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is progressing 129.90 points or 1.22 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.51 percent.
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