After moving mostly higher over the past few sessions, stocks may give back some ground in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower open, with the Dow futures down by 21 points.
While some traders may look to cash in on the gains posted in recent days, trading activity is likely to be subdued ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement this afternoon.
Following a two-day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policy arm of the Fed, is due to announce its latest policy decision at about 12:30 pm ET.
The FOMC is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders will be keeping a close eye on the accompanying statement as well as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's subsequent press briefing.
Traders are also digesting news that Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's government won a crucial confidence vote in parliament, with the debt-plagued nation taking a step towards the austerity measures needed to secure further financial assistance.
Papandreou, who reshuffled his cabinet last Friday, received 155 votes in the 300-member parliament, while 143 members voted against the motion.
The Greek government will now seek lawmakers' approval for measures that are expected to save 28 billion euros with cuts, privatization plans and economic reforms.
In corporate news, shares of Adobe Systems (ADBE) are moving lower in pre-market trading after the diversified software company reported better than expected second quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.
Meanwhile, shares of FedEx (FDX) could see early strength after the delivery giant reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.75 per share on revenues of $10.6 billion. Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.72 per share on revenues of $10.4 billion.
FedEx also said it is well positioned to deliver strong earnings growth in fiscal 2012 and forecast full year earnings of $6.35 to $6.85 per share compared to analyst estimates for earnings of $6.50 per share.
With traders expressing optimism about the outcome of the confidence vote in Greece, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The markets continued to recover from recent weakness, as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels.
The major averages remained firmly positive going into the close, ending the session near their best levels of the day. The Dow rose 109.63 points or 0.9 percent to 12,190.01, the Nasdaq jumped 57.60 points or 2.2 percent to 2,687.26 and the S&P 500 advanced 17.16 points or 1.3 percent to 1,295.52.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 led the way higher, surging up by 1.8 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved modestly lower on the day. The German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.3 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil for August delivery is down $0.52 at $93.65 a barrel in its first day as the front contract. Gold for August delivery is falling $0.50 to $1,545.90 an ounce after ending the previous session up $4.40 to $1,546.40 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 80.143 yen compared to the 80.212 yen at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.4385 compared to yesterday's $1.4412.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.