Wall Street Set To Open Significantly Higher

Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to reports on private sector employment and manufacturing activity.

Investors are keenly observing the developments on the omicron coronavirus variant. Several countries are planning travel restrictions and the U.S. is considering testing for all inward travelers.

Asian shares finished broadly up, while European shares are trading positive.

On the back of positive regional data, early cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.

As of 7.05 am ET, the Dow futures were up 285.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 55.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 232.75 points.

The U.S. major averages saw continued weakness going into the close of trading on Tuesday. The Dow plunged 652.22 points or 1.9 percent to 34,483.72, the Nasdaq slumped 245.14 points or 1.6 percent to 15,537.69 and the S&P 500 tumbled 88.27 points or 1.9 percent to 4,567.00.

On the economic front, ADP Employment Report for November will be released at 8.15 am ET. The consensus is for 525,000, while it was up 571,000 in October.

PMI Manufacturing final report is scheduled at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 59.1.
ISM Manufacturing Index for November will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 61.1, while it was up 60.8 in the prior month.

The Commerce Department’s Construction Spending for October will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.6 percent, while it was down 0.5 percent in the previous month.

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, Crude Oil Inventories were up 1.0 million barrels and Gasoline Inventories were down 0.6 million barrels.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before a House Financial Services Committee hybrid hearing, Oversight of the Treasury Department’s and Federal Reserve’s Pandemic Response at 10.00 am ET.

Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Wednesday.

Chinese markets advanced. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose 13 points, or 0.36 percent, to 3,576.89 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended up 183.66 points, or 0.78 percent, at 23,658.92.

Japanese shares rose after three straight sessions of sharp losses. The Nikkei average inched up 113.86 points, or 0.41 percent, to 27,935.62, while the broader Topix index ended 0.44 percent higher at 1,936.74.

Australian markets hit a two-month low. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 20.10 points, or 0.28 percent, to 7,235.90. The broader All Ordinaries index ended down 29.60 points, or 0.39 percent, at 7,557.80.

European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 103.74 points or 1.54 percent. The German DAX is adding 246.02 points or 1.63 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 105.08 points or 1.49 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 70.77 points or 0.58 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 1.85 percent.

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