Following the pullback seen in the previous session, stocks are likely to move back to the upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 180 points.
Early buying interest is likely to be generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from retail giants Target (TGT) and Lowe's (LOW), which are both moving sharply higher in pre-market trading.
Target and Lowe's both reported quarterly results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines, with Target also raising its full-year earnings guidance.
The better than expected results from the retailers may add to optimism that strength in consumer spending will continue to support the U.S. economy despite early indicators of a looming recession.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement this afternoon.
The minute of the Fed's late-July meeting are scheduled to be released at 2 pm ET and may shed additional light on the outlook for interest rates.
The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points last month and CME Group's FedWatch tool currently indicates a 98.1 percent chance of another 25 basis point rate cut in September.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that the July rate cut should not be seen as "the beginning of a lengthy cutting cycle," but President Donald Trump has been putting intense pressure on the Fed to continue cutting rates.
Shortly after the start of trading, The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of July.
Existing home sales are expected to jump by 2.3 percent to an annual rate of 5.39 million in July after slumping by 1.7 percent to a rate of 5.27 million in June.
Stocks fluctuated over the course of morning trading on Tuesday before coming under pressure in the afternoon. The major averages slid more firmly into negative territory, partly offsetting the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions.
The major averages accelerated to the downside going into the close, ending the session at their worst levels of the day. The Dow slid 173.35 points or 0.7 percent to 25,962.44, the Nasdaq fell 54.25 points or 0.7 percent to 7,948.56 and the S&P 500 slumped 23.14 points or 0.8 percent to 2,900.51.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has surged up by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are up by 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.59 to $56.72 a barrel after edging down $0.01 to $56.13 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, after rising $4.10 to $1,515.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $5.50 to $1,510.20 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 106.45 yen compared to the 106.23 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1103 compared to yesterday's $1.1100.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News