U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground Following Yesterday’s Sell-Off

Following the sell-off seen in 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 S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.

Traders may make another attempt at bargain hunting, picking up stocks at reduced levels following the steep losses posted on Tuesday.

The sharp decline in yesterday’s trading dragged the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in over three months amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Positive sentiment may also be generated in reaction to a Commerce Department report unexpectedly showing a modest rebound in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders crept up by 0.2 percent in August after plunging by a revised 5.6 percent in July.

The uptick surprised economists, who had expected durable goods orders to fall by 0.5 percent compared to the 5.2 percent nosedive that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding a modest decrease in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.4 percent in August after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in July.

Economists had expected ex-transportation orders to edge up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, more than offsetting the moderate rebound seen during Monday’s session. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, falling to their lowest closing levels in over three months.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but still posted steep losses. The Dow slumped 388.00 points or 1.1 percent to 33,618.88, the Nasdaq plunged 207.71 points or 1.6 percent to 13,063.61 and the S&P 500 tumbled 63.91 points or 1.5 percent to 4,273.53.

In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index and China’s Shanghai Composite Index both edged up by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved modestly lower on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has dipped by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are surging $92.16 to $1.77 a barrel after climbing $0.71 to $90.39 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,908.80, down $11 compared to the previous session’s close of $1,919.80. On Tuesday, gold fell $16.80.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.18 yen compared to the 149.07 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0542 compared to yesterday’s $1.0572.