Wall Street Aims To Bounce Back At Open

Asian shares finished mostly lower on Wednesday, while European shares are trading down.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.
A report on durable goods might attract attention along with Powell and Yellen’s second day of Congressional testimony.

Spikes in coronavirus cases in major economies, including Germany, France and Italy were influencing the investor sentiments.

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 114.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 15.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 98.25 points.

The U.S. stocks ended lower overnight on Tuesday as both Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chair Jerome Powell sounded that the U.S. recovery from the pandemic is far from complete.

The Dow slumped 308.05 points or 0.9 percent to 32,423.15, the Nasdaq tumbled 149.85 points or 1.1 percent to 13,227.70 and the S&P 500 slid 30.07 points or 0.8 percent to 3,910.52.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department’s Durable Goods Orders for February will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.8 percent, while it was up 3.4 percent in the previous month.

Thomas Barkin will speak virtually to Charlotte Regional Business Alliance at 8.50 am ET.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will give virtual testimony on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act before the Senate Banking Committee at 10.00 am ET.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Petroleum Status Report for the week will be released at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the Crude oil inventories were up 2.4 million barrels and the Gasoline inventories were up 0.5 million barrels.

Two-year FRN Note auction will be held at 11.30 am ET. Five-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will participate in virtual moderated event, “A Discussion with a Focus on the Central New York Economy” hosted by Syracuse University and Onondaga Community College at 1.35 pm ET.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly to speak on equitable growth, opportunity and modern Federal Reserve policy before virtual Northeastern University Economic Policy Forum Series at 3.00 pm ET.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans to participate in moderated question-and-answer session on current economic conditions and monetary policy before virtual Japan Society of Chicago event.

Asian stocks ended mostly mixed on Wednesday. Chinese shares fell for the second day. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 44.45 points, or 1.30 percent, to 3,367.06. The Hang Seng index fell 2.03 percent to 27,918.14.

Japanese shares extended losses for the fourth day. The Nikkei average slumped 590.40 points, or 2.04 percent, to 28,405.52, while the broader Topix index closed 2.18 percent lower at 1,928.58, marking its biggest daily percentage decline since Feb. 26.
Australian markets recovered from a lackluster start to end modestly higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inched up 33.40 points, or half a percent, to 6,778.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 27.30 points, or 0.39 percent, at 7,013.90.

European shares are trading down. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 13.22 points or 0.22 percent. The German DAX is losing 78.41 points or 0.53 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is down 10.62 points or 0.16 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is losing 21.05 points or 0.19 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.056 percent.