Futures Point To Lower Open For Wall Street

Investors are awaiting U.S. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan on Wednesday which is seen around $3 trillion-$4 trillion.

Initial cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower.
Asian shares finished broadly higher, while European shares are trending higher.

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were down 22.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 12.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 93.25 points.

The U.S. major averages ended mixed on Monday. The Dow, which hit a fresh high at 33,259.00, ended the session at 33,171.37 with a gain of 98.49 points or 0.3 percent. The Nasdaq settled at 13,059.65, losing 7.08 points or 0.6 percent, while the S&P 500 edged down 3.45 points or 0.09 percent to 3,971.09.

On the economic front, the Redbook data for the week will be issued at 8.55 am ET. In the prior week, the store sales were up 9.4 percent.

Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for January will be released at 9.00 am ET. The consensus is for 1.2 percent, while it was up 1.3 percent in the previous month.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index or HPI for January is scheduled at 9.00 am ET. The consensus is for growth of 1 percent, while it was up 1.1 percent in the prior month.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence for March will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 96.0, while it was 91.3 in February.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles will speak virtually about the Financial Stability Board in a Peterson Institute for International Economics discussion at 9.00 am ET.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will speak in Zoom webinar on “The Post-Covid Economy” in World Affairs Council of Atlanta fireside chat with Dennis Lockhart at 12.00 pm ET.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams to participate via Zoom in a moderated discussion titled “The Role Small Business Plays in Building Financial Resilience for the 50+” at 2.00 pm ET.

Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Tuesday. Chinese shares rose notably. The Shanghai Composite index inched up 21.38 points, or 0.62 percent, to 3,456.68, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended up 239.20 points, or 0.84 percent, at 28,577.50.

Japanese shares finished slightly higher. The Nikkei average reversed an early slide to end up 48.18 points, or 0.16 percent, at 29,432.70, while the broader Topix index closed 0.78 percent lower at 1,977.86.

Australian markets fell for a second day. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 61.10 points, or 0.90 percent, to 6,738.40, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 66.60 points, or 0.95 percent, at 6,969.80.

European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 31.59 points or 0.53 percent. The German DAX is adding 91.38 points or 0.61 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 5.43 points or 0.08 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 3.43 points or 0.03 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.41 percent.