Wall Street Poised To Open In Negative Zone

The U.S. trade deficit, private sector employment and service sector activity as well as economic reports might be the highlights on Wednesday.

In the Asian trading session, gold prices hit a new record high. Oil extended losses.

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

As of 7.50 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 59.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were sliding 25.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 165.25 points.

The U.S. major averages finished Tuesday’s session higher. The Nasdaq jumped 262.06 points or 1.4 percent to 19,654.02, the S&P 500 climbed 43.31 points or 0.7 percent to 6,037.88 and the Dow rose 134.13 points or 0.3 percent to 44,556.04.

On the economic front, the ADP Employment Report for January will be released at 8.15 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 153,000, while it was up 122,000 in the prior month.

The International Trade in Goods and Services for December will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of $92 billion, while it was down $78.2 billion in November.

Three-year and 10-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 8.30 am ET.

The PMI Composite Final for January will be published at 9.45 am ET. The services Index consensus is 52.8, while it was up 56.8 in the prior month.

The ISM Services Index for January is scheduled at 10.00 am. The consensus is 54.0, while it was up 54.1 in December.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Petroleum Status Report for the week will be revealed at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the crude oil inventories were up 3.5 million barrels and gasoline inventories were up 3.0 million barrels.

Asian shares ended mixed on Wednesday. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.65 percent to 3,229.49 on escalating trade tensions.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 0.93 percent to 20,597.09, with real estate and tech stocks leading losses.

Japanese stocks ended on a flat note. The Nikkei average finished marginally higher at 38,831,48. The broader Topix index settled 0.27 percent higher at 2,745.51.

Australian markets advanced. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.51 percent to 8,416.90 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.58 percent higher at 8,683.40.

European shares are trading mixed. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 14.58 points or 0.18 percent. The German DAX is losing 16.25 points or 0.08 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 14.95 points or 0.17 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is progressing 62.05 points or 0.50 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.086 percent.

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