The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday, with some early negativity mitigated by a rebound by European stocks. Across the Atlantic, stocks are deriving some support a rally in the shares of BP (BP) after the company released an internal report on Gulf blowout. The Beige Book to be released in the afternoon will have some meaningful impact on the markets depending on how the report qualifies growth based on anecdotal evidence from the Federal Reserve districts.
The prices of commodities are little changed, while the yen has retreated slightly against the dollar following a slight improvement in risk appetite.
U.S. stocks closed Tuesday's session notably lower, as traders took profits following the previous week's advances, with tensions concerning the health of European financial institutions also serving as a reason for the sell-off. The major averages opened the session moderately lower and declined steadily in morning trading. After moving sideways till late trading, the indexes legged down further to close firmly in the red.
The Dow Industrials fell 107.24 points or 1.03% to close at 10,341 and the Nasdaq Composite Index ended down 24.86 points or 1.11% at 2,209, while the S&P 500 Index finished 12.67 points or 1.15% lower at 1,092.
Twenty-six of the thirty Dow components closed the session lower, with American Express (AXP), Bank of America (BAC), Cisco System (CSCO) and Disney (DIS) recording steep declines. On the other hand, McDonald's (MCD) rose about 1%.
Among the sector indexes, the NYSE Arca Airline Index fell 1.80%, the NYSE Arca Oil Index declined 2.08%, the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index moved down 2.43% and the S&P Retail Index receded 1.64%. Additionally, the NYSE Securities Broker/Dealer Index slipped 1.92% and the KBW Bank Index lost 3.17% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.95%.
Currency, Commodity Markets
Crude oil futures are moving down $0.07 to $74.02 a barrel after receding $0.51 to $74.09 a barrel on Tuesday. Gold futures, which moved up $6.50 to $1,259.30 an ounce in the previous session, is currently rising $2.70 to $1,262.50 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 83.85 yen compared to the 83.831 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.2684 compared to yesterday's $1.2682.
Asia
The major Asian markets ended Wednesday's session mostly lower after showing tentativeness in the previous session. The negative lead from Wall Street along with the strengthening of the yen to a fresh 15-year high weighed on the averages in the region.
Japan's Nikkei 225 average opened sharply lower and saw further downside in the morning before moving roughly sideways for the rest of the session. The index closed down 201.40 points or 2.18% at 9,025. Exporters led the day's declines, with Pioneer, Oki Electric, Mitsumi Electric Okuma, Credit Saison, CSK Holdings, Casio Computer, Advantest and Alps Electric among the worst decliners.
In economic news, Japan's Cabinet Office reported that core machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 8.8% month-over-month in July. Economists had expected a 2% increase in core orders for the month.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance said Japan's current account surplus came in at 1.68 trillion yen in July, up 26.1% year-over-year. Economists had estimated a surplus of 1.53 trillion yen. The trade surplus rose 110% year-over-year to 916.1 billion yen, with exports and imports rising 24.7% and 15.7%, respectively.
Australia's All Ordinaries opened lower and showed some volatility in the morning before declining steadily to close down 34.70 points or 0.75% at 4,578. Energy stocks declined sharply, while most other sectors also showed weakness.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index opened notably lower and moved sideways for the rest of the session. The index closed down 312.93 points or 1.46% at 21,089. Forty-two of the forty-five index components closed lower. China Mobile slipped 3.78% after Vodafone (VOD) announced that it would sell its 3.2% stake in China Mobile at the bottom end of its estimated price range.
Europe
The major European markets are advancing on Wednesday, with the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index rising 0.51% and 0.35%, respectively, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is gaining 0.21%.
German Statistical office Destatis said exports increased 18.7% from a year earlier, markedly slower than the 28.4% rise in the prior month. Import growth also slowed to 24.9% from 31.4%. A trade surplus of 13.5 billion euros was recorded, slightly higher than expectations for a 13 billion euro surplus. A surplus of 14.2 billion euros was recorded in June.
Meanwhile, German industrial production edged up 0.1% month-over-month in July, according to a report released by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Economists had expected a bigger 1% increase.
At the same time, U.K. industrial output rose 0.3% month-over-month in July following a 0.5% increase in the previous month. Manufacturing output also rose by a similar magnitude, leading to an annual growth of 4.9%, the fastest rate of increase in 16 years.
U.S. Economic Reports
The Federal Reserve is due to release its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts, at 2 PM ET. The report is normally released about two weeks before the monetary policy meeting is held.
The Fed is also expected to release its monthly consumer credit report at 3 PM ET. Consumer credit for July is likely to show a decline of $5.25 billion.
In June, consumer credit fell at an annual rate of 0.70% to $2.42 trillion, with a 2.4%rise in non-revolving credit partly offsetting a 6.5% drop in revolving credit.
Stocks in Focus
Medco Health (MHS) could be in focus after it announced that it has agreed to sell $500 million aggregate principal amount of 2.750% senior notes and $500 million 4.125% senior notes, both due September 15th, 2020. The company said it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including repayment of borrowings under its senior unsecured credit facility. Another stock that could move in reaction to an offering is UDR (UDR), which said it would sell 13.5 million shares in an underwritten public offering. Meanwhile, NiSource (NI) announced that it has commenced a public offering of up to $400 million of its common stock.
Bristol-Myers (BMY) is likely to react to its announcement that it has signed a definitive agreement to buy Zymogenetics (ZGEN) for $9.75 per share in cash. The total deal value is $885 million or $735 million net of cash acquired.
Comtech (CMTL) could see some activity after it announced that it has terminated its merger agreement with CPI International (CPII). Comtech noted that the termination is by mutual agreement and has been approved by the boards of both companies. Comtech received a $15 million termination fee from CPI.
Forest Labs (FRX) could also be in focus after it said the FDA's anti-infective Drugs Advisory Committee voted 21-0 in favor of approving its bactericide ceftaroline fosamil for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and voted 18-0 in favor of approval for complicated skin and skin structure infections.
Pep Boys (PBY) is likely to move in reaction to its announcement that its second quarter earnings rose to 20 cents per share from 15 cents per share last year. Sales rose 3.3% to $504.9 million. Analysts estimated earnings of 19 cents per share on revenues of $504.50 million.
Altera Corp. (ALTR) could move to the upside after it raised its third quarter sequential revenue growth guidance to 10%-14% from its previous forecast for 4%-8% growth. The company expects all four of its vertical markets to see sequential growth.
Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) may also see some buying interest after it raised its earning and revenue guidance for 2010. The company expects non-GAAP earnings of $3.70-$3.80 per share on revenues of $4.44 billion to $4.47 billion. Analysts estimate earnings of $3.62 per share on revenues of $4.38 billion. The company also reported that its second quarter earnings rose to 72 cents per share from 60 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenues climbed to $1.10 billion from $529.3 million last year.
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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.