Futures Pointing To Initial Strength On Wall Street

After moving modestly lower over the course of the previous session, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 225 points.

Technology stocks may help lead a rebound on Wall Street after the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed lower for two straight sessions. The Nasdaq 100 futures are currently up by 0.9 percent.

The markets may also benefit from a continued easing of concerns about contagion from the recent turmoil in the banking sector.

U.S.-listed shares of UBS Group (UBS) are moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the Swiss lender announced Sergio Ermotti will return as CEO to steer its massive takeover of Credit Suisse (CS).

Trading activity may remain relatively subdued, however, as traders await some key U.S. economic data later in the week.

Friday’s report on personal income and spending in the month of February is likely to be in focus, as it includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

With the Fed signaling last week that it expects just one more interest rate increase this year, traders will look to the data for clues about the timing of the final rate hike.

CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicates a 58.3 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged at its next meeting in early May and a 41.7 percent chance of a 25 basis point increase.

Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on pending home sales in the month of February. Pending home sales are expected to slump by 3.0 percent in February after spiking by 8.1 percent in January.

After turning in a lackluster performance early in the session, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages all moved to the downside after ending Monday’s trading mixed.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained in the red. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 52.76 points or 0.5 percent to 11,716.08, the S&P 500 dipped 6.26 points or 0.2 percent to 3,971.27 and the Dow edged down 37.83 points or 0.1 percent to 32,394.25.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 2.1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has shot up by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.9 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.86 to $74.06 a barrel after rising $0.39 to $73.20 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,982.20, down $8.20 compared to the previous session’s close of $1,990.40. On Tuesday, gold jumped $18.90.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 132.30 yen compared to the 130.89 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0846 compared to yesterday’s $1.0845.

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