Wall Street Might Open Broadly Down

The Fed announcement and a set of economic announcements will be the focus on Wednesday.

Investors are keenly observing the developments in the Middle East and the changes in oil prices. The slowing down of the Chinese economy also is a concern.

Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly lower.

Asian shares finished mostly lower, while European shares are trading mixed.

As of 7.35 am ET, the Dow futures were up 15.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 25.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were falling 195.75 points.

The U.S. major averages finished mixed on Tuesday. The Dow ended the day up 133.86 points or 0.4 percent at 38,467.31, while the Nasdaq slid 118.15 points or 0.8 percent to 15,509.90. S&P 500 bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before closing down 2.96 points or 0.1 percent at 4,924.97.

On the economic front, the ADP Employment Report for January will be released at 8.15 am ET. The consensus is for 145,000, while it was up 164,000 in the previous month.

The Employment Cost Index for the fourth quarter is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 1.0 percent, while it was up 1.1 percent in the prior quarter.

The Chicago PMI for January will be published at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 48.1, while it was up 46.9 in December.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Petroleum Status Report for the week will be issued at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the crude oil inventories were down 9.2 million barrels and the Gasoline inventories were up 4.9 million barrels.

The Federal Open Market Committee or FOMC announcement is expected at 2.00 pm ET. The consensus is 0 bp, while the prior change was 0 bp.

The Fed Chair Press Conference will be at 2.30 pm ET.

The Agriculture Department’s Farm Prices for December will be revealed at 3.00 pm ET. In November, the farm prices were down 0.1 percent.

Asian stocks declined on Wednesday.

Chinese markets fell sharply. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index tumbled 1.48 percent to 2,788.55.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.39 percent to 15,485.07.

Japanese shares rose notably. The Nikkei average closed 0.61 percent higher at 36,286.71. The broader Topix Index climbed 0.96 percent to finish at 2,551.10.

Australian markets extended gains for the eighth consecutive session. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 jumped 1.06 percent to 7,680.70, led by financials. The broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.99 percent at 7,912.80.

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