The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a notably lower opening on Wednesday, with concerns about the latest developments overseas likely to weigh on the markets. A sell-off by Chinese stocks may generate selling pressure amid concerns about the global economic impact.
Traders are also keeping an eye on the latest developments regarding the Greek debt crisis after Eurozone leaders set Sunday as the final deadline for Greece to reach an agreement on a new bailout. Even with the focus on news from overseas, trading could also be impacted by the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.
After falling sharply in early trading, stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages bounced well off their lows for the session and into positive territory.
The Dow ended the day up 93.33 points or 0.5 percent to 17,776.91 after falling more than 200 points to its lowest intraday level in five months. The S&P 500 also climbed 12.58 points or 0.6 percent to 2,081.34, while the Nasdaq edged up 5.52 points or 0.1 percent to 4,997.46.
Utilities stocks showed a strong move to the upside as the trading day progressed, driving the Dow Jones Utilities Average up by 2.5 percent. Considerable strength also emerged among oil service stocks, which rebounded along with the price of crude oil.
Natural gas, commercial real estate, and railroad stocks also moved notably higher, while substantial weakness remained visible among gold stocks.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are inching up $0.07 to $52.40 a barrel after slipping $0.20 to $52.33 a barrel on Tuesday. Gold futures, which plunged $20.60 to $1,152.60 an ounce in the previous session, are currently up $0.40 at $1,153 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 121.43 yen compared to the 122.54 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1037 compared to yesterday's $1.1011.
Asia
Most Asian markets saw substantial weakness on Wednesday, as traders showed risk aversion as Chinese stocks hit four-month lows despite a series of market-stabilizing measures by authorities.
Almost half of China's roughly 2,800 listed firms announced trading halts as increasing signs of deleveraging drove down stocks across the board. There were fears that a prolonged slump would cause systematic risk for the country's financial system.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index closed down 219.93 points or 5.90 percent at 3,507.19 after plummeting as much as 8.20 percent early in the day. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also fell 1,458.75 points or 5.84 percent to close at 23,516.56.
Japanese shares also tumbled to a nearly two-month low on concerns China's stock market rout may spread to other markets. The Nikkei 225 Index slumped 638.95 points or 3.14 percent to 19,737.64, a level not seen since May 15th
Komatsu, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, Sumitomo Chemical, Nissan Motor, Mitsui Chemicals and Itochu Corp. turned in some of the worst performances.
The Australian Market also saw significant weakness, as steep declines in commodity prices unnerved investors. Australia's All Ordinaries Index dropped 107.50 points or 1.93 percent to 5,456.50.
Big miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell over 3 percent each and smaller rival Fortescue Metals tumbled 6.2 percent after iron ore prices plunged below $50 a ton overnight for the first time in nearly three months.
On the economic front, the Japanese Finance Ministry reported a current account surplus of 1.880 trillion yen in May, topping expectations for a surplus of 1.570 trillion yen. The wider surplus came as prices for crude oil continued to reduce import costs and a weak yen boosted income from overseas investments.
Europe
European stocks have moved notably higher on the day after Eurozone leaders set Sunday as the final deadline for Greece to reach an agreement on a new bailout.
At a press conference, European Council President Donald Tusk said, "The situation is really critical and unfortunately we can't exclude a black scenario if there is no agreement by Sunday."
He added, "Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say it loud and clear that the final deadline ends this week."
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras failed to present a detailed reform blueprint at a meeting of finance ministers on Tuesday. The Greek government now has until Thursday to submit a plan.
On the economic front, German manufacturing turnover increased for the second straight month in May, preliminary figures from Destatis showed. Manufacturing turnover rose a seasonally and working-day-adjusted 0.7 percent month-over-month in May, following a 1.3 percent increase in April.
Meanwhile, French business morale unexpectedly fell in June, survey data from the Bank of France showed. According to the monthly index of business activity, French GDP is expected to increase by 0.2 percent in the second quarter, the bank said. In the previous survey, the bank projected a growth rate of 0.3 percent.
U.S. Economic Reports
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled release its weekly petroleum status report for the week ended July 3rd at 10:30 am ET.
Crude oil stockpiles increased by 2.4 million barrels to 465.4 million in the week ended June 26th. Inventories remained near levels not seen for this time of the year in at least the last 80 years.
Meanwhile, gasoline inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels but remained in the upper half of the average range. Distillate stockpiles edged up by 0.4 million barrels are were in the middle of the average range for this time of year.
Refinery capacity utilization averaged 94.2 percent over the four weeks ended June 26th compared to 93.7 percent over the four weeks ended June 19th.
The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of its auction of $21 billion worth of ten-year notes at 1 pm ET.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes of its June monetary policy meeting at 2 pm ET.
Additionally, the Fed is also due to release its report on outstanding consumer credit at 3 pm ET. The consensus estimate calls for an $18.5 billion increase in consumer credit in May.
Outstanding consumer credit rose $20.5 billion in April following an upwardly revised $21.3 billion increase in March. Revolving credit tied to credit cards rose $8.6 billion and non-revolving credit tied to auto loans climbed $11.9 million.
Stocks in Focus
Shares of Alcoa (AA) may be in focus, as the aluminum giant is due to reports its second quarter financial results after the market close, marking the unofficial beginning of the earnings season.
Media reports suggest that software security company Symantec (SYMC) is in talks to sell its Veritas data storage business to private equity firm Carlyle Group (CG).
Technology giant Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to announce a new round of job cuts, the New York Times reported. The cuts would be in addition to the 18,000 layoffs announced in July 2014
Shares of Barclays (BCS) may also attract attention after the British lender fired Antony Jenkins as chief executive after three years in the post.
Technology outsourcing and consultancy company Accenture (ACN) announced the acquisition of Hong Kong-based PacificLink Group in order to boost its digital marketing and commerce capabilities in China.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.