After ending the previous session nearly flat, stocks are likely to come under pressure in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 64 points.
News that the World Bank lowered its global economic growth forecast for 2014 may weigh on the markets amid another quiet day on the U.S. economic front.
Citing poor weather in the U.S., financial market turbulence and the Ukrainian crisis, the World Bank said it now expects the global economy to grow by 2.8 percent in 2014 compared to its previous forecast for 3.2 percent growth.
At the same time, the World Bank left its growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016 broadly unchanged at 3.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
Some traders may also take the opportunity to cash in the on the recent strength in the markets, which has lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs and the Nasdaq to its best levels in three month.
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Market Analysis
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.