Trading in the U.S. index futures suggests that Wall Street stocks may shed off their negativity and attempt a rebound on Wednesday from the declines in the previous two sessions. That said, apart from the pullback, the markets have very little reasons to add to their equity holdings, given the lack of any major earnings and economic catalysts. With retail sales and industrial production data due for release over the next two trading sessions of the week, the underlying mood in the markets may be one of caution.
As of 6:15 pm ET, the Dow futures are rising 64 points, the S&P 500 Index futures are adding 7.80 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are moving up 11.75 points.
Amid intensifying risk aversion, U.S. stocks retreated sharply on Tuesday. The major averages were also hurt by a lack of trading cues to render a direction.
On the economic front, the Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly oil inventory report for the week ended June 7th at 10:30 am ET.
The Treasury Department is set release its monthly budget report for May at 2 pm ET. Economists expect a deficit of $110 billion for the month compared to a surplus of $112.9 million in the previous month.
In corporate news, Oxford Industries (OXM) reported first quarter earnings that exceeded estimates, while its revenues were shy of estimates. The company's second quarter and full year guidance surrounded the consensus estimate.
Liberty Global (LBTYA) said its board has authorized a $3.5 billion stock buyback program following the acquisition of Virgin Media. The company expects the buyback program to be completed over the next two years.
Travelzoo (TZOO) said its board approved a reverse/forward stock split, consisting of a 1-for-25 reverse stock split of its outstanding shares, followed immediately by a 25-for-1 forward stock split. The move is intended to reduce its shareholders from more than 90,000 to lesser than 10,000 and reduce administrative costs.
First Solar (FSLR) said it commenced an underwritten public offering of 8.50 million shares of its common stock. St. Jude (STJ) announced that the FDA has approved its next-generation Ellipse and SJM Assura portfolio of implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators.
PDL BioPharma (PDLI) announced that it expects royalty revenues of about $143 million for the second quarter ending June 30th, 2013, up from $126 million in the year-ago period.
Rambus (RMBS) announced that it has signed a 5-year patent license agreement with South Korea's SK Hynix for the use of Rambus memory-related patented innovations in SK Hynix semiconductor products. The agreement provides a license to certain DRAM products for payments of $12 million per quarter over the next five years.
Prudential Financial (PRU) announced that its board has authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion of its common stock during the period from July 1st, 2013 through June 30th, 2014. H&R Block (HRB), Men's Wearhouse (MW) and PVH (PVH) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading.
The Asian markets declined for the second straight day, tracking the negative performance of Wall Street stocks overnight. The Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese markets remained closed on account of public holidays. Some lackluster domestic economic data also impacted sentiment.
Japan's Nikkei 225 average ended down 28.30 points or 0.21 percent at 13,289. Electric equipment makers came under selling pressure, with Oki Electric Industry, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Yokogawa Electric and Nippon Electric Glass seeing marked weakness.
Australia's All Ordinaries ended 32.80 points or 0.69 percent lower at 4,716. The market witnessed a broad based sell-off, with energy, financial, healthcare and material stocks leading the declines. The major averages in most other major markets that were open for trading closed moderately lower.
On the economic front, a report released by Japan's Cabinet Office showed that core machinery orders in Japan fell 8.8 percent month-over-month in April compared to expectations for a 8.1 percent drop. Annually, orders fell 1.1 percent, while economists expected a steeper 4.3 percent decline. A separate government report showed that corporate goods prices in Japan inched up 0.1 percent month-over-month in May compared to the 0.2 percent increase expected by economists.
The results of a consumer sentiment survey by Westpac and the Melbourne Institute showed that consumer confidence improved in June. The index measuring confidence among consumers in Australia rose 4.7 percent to 102.2 in June.
European stocks opened lower but have since then pared their gains and are currently mixed. Some buying emerged from bargain hunting after the major averages in the region declined to their 6-week lows.
In corporate news, Spanish retailer Inditex reported first quarter profits that rose 1.4 percent and sales that climbed 5.2 percent. The profit and sales performances were below expectations. U.K. grocer Sainsbury said in its trading update that June quarter like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose 0.8 percent. Fraport, the operator of the Frankfort Airport, said it welcomed 5.13 million passengers in May, up 0.4 percent year-over-year.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that the jobless rate for the U.K. calculated based on the ILO standards came in at 7.8 percent for the three months ended April, in line with expectations. The claimant count fell 8,600 in May compared to expectations for a 5,000 drop.
Separately, eurozone industrial production grew 0.4 percent in April from a month ago, largely due to higher output of capital goods and non-durable consumer goods, data from Eurostat revealed. Industrial output was forecast to remain flat after rising 0.9 percent in March.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.