With traders largely focused on the latest developments overseas, stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a moderately higher open, with the Dow futures up by 39 points.
The markets are likely to benefit from remarks from Chinese officials, with China's Premier Wen Jiabao saying his country will continue to invest in European government debt to help resolve the debt crisis.
People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan echoed the remarks made by Wen and expressed confidence that the challenges faced by the Eurozone can be resolved.
"China is considering more involvement in addressing the issue through the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism," Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Zhou as saying.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on the latest news out of Greece after conservative party leader Antonis Samaras reportedly delivered a letter to the country's international lenders pledging to implement the package of austerity measures that the Greek parliament passed over the weekend.
Samaras, who will likely become Greece's next prime minister after April elections, had previously indicated that he would want the Greek bailouts to be renegotiated if he were elected.
In U.S. economic news, the New York Federal Reserve recently released a report showing that regional manufacturing activity continued to expand in the month of February, with the index of activity in the sector rising to its highest level in more than a year.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index rose to 19.5 in February from 13.5 in January, with a positive reading indicating an increase in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to edge up to a reading of 14.8.
Shortly before the start of trading, the Federal Reserve is also due to release a report on industrial production in January. The Fed is also scheduled to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting later in the day.
While stocks maintained a negative bias throughout much of the trading day on Tuesday, the latest news out of Greece contributed to a substantial recovery in the final minutes of trading. The major averages bounced off their lows going into the close, ending the session nearly flat.
The S&P 500 remained stuck in the red, edging down 1.27 points or 0.1 percent to 1,350.50. Meanwhile, the Dow inched up 4.24 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 12,878.28 and the Nasdaq crept up 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,931.83.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region showed strong moves to the upside during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 2.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 2.1 percent.
The major European markets are also seeing strength on the day but have pulled back off their best levels. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent, and the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.83 to $101.57 a barrel after edging down $0.17 to $100.74 a barrel on Tuesday. An ounce of gold is currently fetching $1,731.60, up $13.90 from the previous session's close of $1,717.70 an ounce. In the previous session, the precious metal fell $7.20.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 78.39 yen compared to the 78.44 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3085 compared to yesterday's $1.3134.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.