Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s semi-annual monetary policy testimony and the Labor Department’s report on consumer price inflation in January might be the highlights on Wednesday.
Traders are awaiting new tariff announcements by President Donald Trump today.
In the Asian trading session, the U.S. dollar dipped, gold dipped below $2,900 per ounce, and crude oil futures eased.
Asian shares finished mostly higher, while European shares are trading broadly up.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly down.
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 53.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were losing 1.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 36.00 points.
The U.S. major averages finished broadly up on Tuesday. The Nasdaq fell 70.41 points or 0.4 percent to 19,643.86, the S&P 500 crept up 2.06 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,068.50 and the Dow rose 123.24 points or 0.3 percent to 44,593.65.
On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index or CPI for January will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3 percent, while it was up 0.4 percent in the prior 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, the crude oil inventories were up 8.7 million barrels and the gasoline inventories were up 2.2 million barrels.
Ten-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
The Treasury Statement for January will be released at 2.00 pm ET. The consensus is for a deficit of $89.9 billion, while the deficit in December was $86.7 billion.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver semiannual monetary policy testimony before the House Financial Services Committee at 10.00 am ET.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic will speak on the economic outlook before the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors at 12.00 pm ET.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller will speak on Stablecoin Infrastructure for Real World Applications at 5.05 pm ET.
Asian stocks ended Wednesday’s broadly higher. China’s Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.85 percent to 3,346.39.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 2.64 percent to 21,857.92.
Japanese markets eked out modest gains. The Nikkei average rose 0.42 percent to 38,963.70 while the broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 2,733.33.
Australian markets rose notably. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.60 percent to 8,535.30 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.55 percent higher at 8,799.60.
European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 0.03 points or 0.00 percent. The German DAX is adding 70.19 points or 0.32 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 8.16 points or 0.09 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is gaining 0.71 points or 0.01 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.96 percent.
Business News
Wall Street Might Open Broadly Lower
2025-02-12 13:20:23
