FX.co ★ Wall Street Might Open Moderately Up

On Wednesday, with a quiet day for economic news, the focus of investors turns to the major reports expected later in the week.

The dollar remained steady and gold saw slight gains during Asian trading hours. Oil prices saw a bounceback following an unexpected decrease in U.S. crude stockpiles. The performance of shares was mixed in Asia, whilst European shares have largely suffered a drop.

Early signals from the U.S. Futures Index suggest a potential moderate rise in Wall Street, despite indications of a lower opening for Nasdaq 100 futures. As of 7:50 am ET, Dow futures were up by 31.00 points, and S&P 500 futures had added 3.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 6.75 points.

Major U.S. averages ended the day on a high on Tuesday, led by a significant surge in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which closed the day up by 246.36 points or 1.5% at 16,265.63. The S&P 500 and Dow also saw gains, jumping 57.33 points or 1.1% to 5,175.27, and climbing 235.83 points or 0.6% to 39,005.49, respectively.

Looking at the day's economic schedule, the Quarterly Services Survey for Q4 is due to be released at 10:00 am ET. In Q3, revenue from selected services saw a 2.0% rise. The Petroleum Status report will be published at 10:30 am ET by the Energy Information Administration, detailing the change from the prior week, when crude oil stockpiles rose by 1.4 million barrels and gasoline supplies fell by 4.5 million barrels.

Auctions for 4-month Treasury bills and 30-year Treasury Bonds are set for 11:30 am ET and 1:00 pm ET respectively.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks saw a fall on Wednesday with China's Shanghai Composite Index dropping 0.40% to 3,043.83, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ending marginally lower at 17,082.11. Japanese markets also closed slightly lower, with the Nikkei average sliding 0.26% to 38,695.97 and the broader Topix index settling at 0.33% lower at 2,648.51. In contrast, Australian markets closed on a high, with the benchmark S&P ASX 200 edging up 0.22% to 7,729.40 and the broader All Ordinaries index ending 0.21% higher at 7,989.50.

European shares have seen a mostly lower trend with France's CAC 40 down 0.10% and Germany's DAX falling 0.38%. England's FTSE 100 showed gains, as did the Swiss Market Index, climbing 0.12% and 0.33% respectively.

The Euro Stoxx 50, representing blue-chip leaders in the Eurozone, is up by 0.62%.