Wall Street Set To Open Lower

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

Trading on Wednesday might be impacted by reaction to a report on Consumer Prices in the month of April.

As of 7.30 am ET, the Dow futures were down 105.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were sliding 15.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were losing 81.50 points.

The U.S. major indices finished lower on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down just 12.43 points or 0.1 percent at 13,389.43. Meanwhile, the Dow tumbled 473.66 points or 1.4 percent to 34,269.16 and the S&P 500 slid 36.33 points or 0.9 percent to 4,152.10.

On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index or CPI for April will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.2 percent, while it was up 0.6 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 down 8.0 million barrels and Gasoline Inventories were up 0.7 million barrels.

The Ten-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

The Treasury Department’s Statement for April will be issued at 2.00 pm ET. The consensus is for a decline is $349 billion, while it was down $659.6 billion.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida will discuss the U.S. economic outlook and monetary policy before the virtual National Association for Business Economics “A Vision of the Global Economy Post-COVID” global symposium at 9.00 am ET.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker to speak on “Higher Education” before virtual Institutions of Higher Education: Financial Viability and COVID-19 event at 1.30 pm ET.

Asian stocks hit their lowest in seven weeks on Wednesday. Chinese shares rose as the U.S. agreed to remove Xiaomi from a blacklist.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index inched up 20.91 points, or 0.61 percent, to 3,462.75 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 217.23 points, or 0.78 percent, to 28,231.04.

Japanese stocks fell sharply. The Nikkei average dropped 461.08 points, or 1.61 percent, to 28,147.51 while the broader Topix index ended 1.47 percent lower at 1,877.95.

Australian markets fell for a second day running. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 52.10 points, or 0.73 percent, to 7,044.90 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 50.50 points, or 0.69 percent, at 7,281.10.

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 gaining 8.23 points or 0.06 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is down 4.88 points or 0.07 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is declining 16.50 points or 0.15 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.030 percent.

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