U.S. Index Futures Modestly Higher Before Key Economic Data Release; Early Closure for July 4th Holiday

U.S. index futures are modestly higher this Wednesday, with investors awaiting a series of significant economic data. U.S. markets will close early today at 1 PM and remain closed on Thursday due to the July 4th holiday.

At 6:21 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) were up 47 points, or 0.12%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.02%, and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.05%. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.429%.

In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August fell 0.05% to $82.77 per barrel. Brent crude oil for September rose 0.01%, close to $86.25 per barrel. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that crude oil inventories fell by 9.2 million barrels in the previous week.

The most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) rose 2.55% to $118.79 per metric ton. Benchmark iron ore for August SZZFQ4 on the Singapore Exchange rose 3.1% to $113.35 per ton.

Wednesday’s U.S. economic indicator schedule begins at 8:15 AM with the ADP employment report for June. At 8:30 AM, the Commerce Department will release the May trade balance. At the same time, 8:30 AM, the Labor Department will report weekly jobless claims for the week ending last Saturday.

At 9:45 AM, S&P Global will present the revised reading of the June services sector Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). Factory orders for May will be released at 10 AM by the Commerce Department. Also at 10 AM, the ISM Services Index for June will be published by the ISM. At 10:30 AM, the Department of Energy (DoE) will reveal last week’s crude oil inventory status. Finally, at 2 PM, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Wednesday after a series of regional data releases. Japan’s composite PMI fell to 49.7 in June from 52.6 in May, indicating the first contraction in Japan’s private sector in seven months. China’s Caixin services PMI registered 51.2 in June, slowing from the previous month (54.0). Additionally, Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) announced plans to repurchase 613 million of its own shares for a total of $5.8 billion in the quarter ending in June.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.26% to 40,580.76 points, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.47% to 2,794.01 points, and the Kosdaq rose 0.75% to 836.1 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.14%, driven by real estate stocks, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.28%. In India, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 reached new all-time highs. Conversely, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.49%.

European stock markets are operating higher on Wednesday, with the Stoxx 600 index led by technology stocks. Among individual stocks, Maersk (TG:DP4B) shares are up 2.7% after withdrawing from sales negotiations with DB Schenker. Investors are closely watching the parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom, with expectations of a victory for the Labour Party.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks rose after an uncertain start. The Dow Jones advanced 0.41%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.84%. The S&P 500 rose 0.62% to close above 5,500 points, its 32nd record this year. Falling bond yields boosted gains despite concerns about interest rates following Powell’s speech and the JOLTS report.

The Labor Department reported 8.140 million job openings in May, an increase of 221,000 from the previous month. Redbook Research showed a 5.8% increase in the Redbook Index for the week ending June 29 compared to the same period last year. Powell mentioned progress on inflation but stated the need for more evidence before considering lowering interest rates. Among individual stocks, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares closed up 10% after reporting higher-than-expected sales, AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) rose 4.2%, while Nike (NYSE:NKE) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) ended lower.

On the earnings front, Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) will report before the market opens.

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