Wall Street Might Open Slightly Positive

Private sector employment and Pending Home Sales Index might be the highlight on Wednesday.

Asian shares finished mostly higher, while European shares are trading down.

Initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open modestly positive.

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 00.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 5.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were adding 72.00 points.

The U.S. major indices finished lower on Tuesday. The Dow slid 104.41 points or 0.3 percent to 33,066.96, giving background after ending the previous session at a record closing high. The Nasdaq edged down 14.25 points or 0.1 percent to 13,045.39 and the S&P 500 fell 12.54 points or 0.3 percent to 3,958.55.

On the economic front, Automatic Data Processing or ADP’s Employment Report for March will be issued at 8.15 am ET. The consensus is for 500,000, while it was up 117,000 in the prior month.

Market News International’s Chicago PMI for March will be released at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 60.3, while it was up 59.5 in the previous month.

National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index for February will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 3.0 percent, while it was down 2.8 percent in January.

State Street Investor Confidence Index for March is scheduled at 10.00 am ET. In the prior month, the Index was at 91.9.

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 1.9 million barrels, and the Gasoline inventories were up 0.2 million barrels.

The Agriculture Department’s Farm Prices for February is expected at 3.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the prices were down 1.4 percent.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will speak in a Zoom webinar on “Monetary Policy in a Pandemic” at the University of Miami Herbert Business School at 10.45 am ET.
Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday.

Chinese shares ended lower despite data pointing to a strong economic recovery. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 14.76 points, or 0.43 percent, to 3,441.91 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended down 199.15 points, or 0.70 percent, at 28,378.35.

Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei average fell 253.90 points, or 0.86 percent, to 29,178. 80. The broader Topix index ended 1.21 percent lower at 1,954.

Australian markets ended notably higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 52.30 points, or 0.78 percent, to 6,790.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 47.20 points, or 0.68 percent, at 7,017.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is losing 25.81 points or 0.43 percent. The German DAX is down 5.64 points or 0.04 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 30.43 points or 0.46 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is declining 10.00 points or 0.09 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.11 percent.