U.S. Futures Slightly Dip Amid Corporate Earnings and Quiet Economic Calendar, Oil Prices Fall

U.S. index futures show slightly negative fluctuations on a day with a limited economic agenda, as investors await statements from key Federal Reserve officials. Throughout the day, figures such as Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson, Boston Fed President Susan Collins, and Fed Director Lisa Cook are expected to share their perspectives, potentially influencing market expectations.

At 7:28 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) fell by 25 points, or -0.06%. S&P 500 futures declined by -0.17%, and Nasdaq-100 futures lost -0.23%. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was at 4.492%.

In the commodities market, June West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped -1.26%, to $77.39 per barrel. Brent crude oil for July decreased by -1.18%, near $82.18 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian exchange fell 2.91%, to $119.87 per metric ton.

On this Wednesday’s economic agenda, the Commerce Department will release wholesale inventory data for March at 10:00 AM. At 10:30 AM, the Department of Energy (DoE) will share the position of oil inventories until last Friday.

Most European markets are on the rise as investors assess new corporate results in the region. Highlight for shares of Siemens Energy (TG:SIE), up 13% after the company raised its forecast for 2024, driven by the robust performance of its electric grid segment.

Asian and Pacific stock markets ended the day with mixed results, reflecting a cautious scenario in the face of recent corporate earnings and technical adjustments. In Japan, the Nikkei index recorded a significant drop of 1.63%, closing at 38,202.37 points, impacted by unfavorable profit projections from major conglomerates, such as Nintendo (USOTC:NTDOY), which saw its shares listed in Japan plunge 5.4%, and Toyota (NYSE:TM), with a decline of 0.6%. Other notable drops included Sony (NYSE:SONY), which retreated 5%, and Nomura Holdings (NYSE:NMR), which decreased 3.4%. Meanwhile, other indices in the region showed divergent results: the Shanghai SE in China fell by 0.61%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 0.90%. Conversely, the Kospi in South Korea advanced 0.39%, and the ASX 200 in Australia posted a modest gain of 0.14%.

During Tuesday’s trading session, U.S. stocks fluctuated but closed narrowly. The Dow Jones rose slightly by 0.08%, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, while the S&P 500 increased by 0.13%. Conversely, the Nasdaq fell by -0.10%. Comments from Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari suggested the need to see clear signs of disinflation before considering rate cuts, adding that the possibility of raising rates again still existed, although the threshold for this was high. Among individual stocks, Disney (NYSE:DIS) stood out with a notable decline, despite reporting higher-than-expected profits.

Companies are scheduled to present quarterly reports before the market opens including Uber (NYSE:UBER), Shopify (NYSE:SHOP), Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM), Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM), Emerson (NYSE:EMR), Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI), ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR), Avadel (NASDAQ:AVDL), Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT), EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS), among others.

After the close, we will be awaiting numbers from Arm (NASDAQ:ARM), Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD), Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND), Applovin (NASDAQ:APP), Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL), AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC), TheTradeDesk (NASDAQ:TTD), Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS), Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET), and more.