Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index are pointing to a lower opening for Wall Street. Investors are looking for the Import and Export Prices for the month, Mortgage Applications as well as a slew of Fed speeches on Wednesday. Asian shares closed mostly down, while European shares are trading in the red.
As of 6.30 am ET, the Dow futures were slipping 102 points, the S&P 500 futures were shedding 9.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 32.75 points.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday. The Dow rose 102.80 points or 0.4 percent to 25,385.80, the Nasdaq inched up 6.19 points or 0.1 percent to 7,163.58 and the S&P 500 edged up 3.58 points or 0.1 percent to 2,751.29.
On the economic front, the Mortgage Bankers' Association's Mortgage Applications for the week will be published at 7.00 am ET. In the prior week the composite index was down 2.8 percent.
Import and Export Prices for December will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The economic analysts are looking for consensus of 0.4 percent compared to 0.7 percent. Export price index is expected to be 0.3 percent, down from 0.5 percent a month ago.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will discuss current economic conditions or monetary policy at the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Rotary Club 2018 Economic Breakfast in Lake Forest, IL, with audience and media Q&A at 9.00 am ET.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will participate in a moderated Q&A at the Weitzman Group Annual Retail Forecast in Dallas, with audience Q&A at 9.10 am ET. He will also participate in a moderated Q&A at the "Urban Land Institute North Texas Emerging Trends 2018" in Dallas, with audience and media Q&A at 10.15 am.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will speak on the "U.S. Economy and Monetary Policy" at the 2018 Economic Outlook event in St. Louis, with audience Q&A at 1.30 pm ET.
The Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations survey report will be released at 10.00 am ET. The prior business inflation expectations were 2.1.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Petroleum Status report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET. In the previous week, the crude oil inventories were down 7.4 million barrels, gasoline were up 4.8 million barrels, while distillates grew 8.9 million barrels.
10-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
In the corporate sector, Lennar Corp. revealed earnings for fourth quarter that dropped from last year.
The company said its earnings totaled $309.59 million, or $1.29 per share. This was down from $313.45 million, or $1.34 per share, in last year's fourth quarter. The company said revenue for the quarter rose 12.1 percent to $3.79 billion, up from $3.38 billion last year.
Airbus Group N.V. announced that Eric Chen, previously President of Airbus Commercial Aircraft China, succeeds Laurence Barron as Chairman of Airbus China. George Xu has been appointed CEO of Airbus China.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced that its Board of Directors voted to increase the number of directors to fourteen from twelve. Gregory Abel and Ajit Jain were then elected to serve as Directors to fill the resulting vacancies on the Board.
Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday. Consumer prices in China rose an annual 1.8 percent in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That missed expectations for an increase of 1.9 percent but was up from 1.7 percent in November. China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.23 percent to extend gains for the ninth straight session, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished up 62.31 points or 0.20 percent at 31,073.72.
Japanese shares ended in the red as traders locked in some profits after recent strong gains. The Nikkei average slid 61.79 points or 0.26 percent to 23,788.20 after hitting a 26-year high in the previous session. The broader Topix index, however, closed 0.15 percent higher at 1,892.11.
Australian shares gave up early gains to end notably lower, dragged down by miners and property developers. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 39.10 points or 0.64 percent to 6,096.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 35.60 points or 0.57 percent at 6,205.90.
European shares are trading lower. The CAC 40 of France is down 23.75 points or 0.43 percent. DAX of Germany is declining 116.67 points or 0.87 percent. FTSE 100 of England is down 6.08 points or 0.08 percent. Swiss Market Index is slipping 73.74 points or 0.77 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50, that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is down 0.45 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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