Futures Pointing To Initial Weakness On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to see further downside after ending yesterday’s choppy trading session modestly lower.

A slump by shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) may weigh on the markets, as the financial services giant is tumbling by 2.6 percent in pre-market trading.

Wells Fargo is under pressure after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings but weaker than expected revenues.

Shares of Bank of America (BAC) are also seeing pre-market weakness even though the company reported fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.

Meanwhile, shares of Citigroup (C) are likely to move to the upside after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of November.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in November after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in October.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales grew by 0.5 percent in November after inching up by 0.2 percent in October. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.4 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed a modest increase by U.S. producer prices in the month of November.

After recovering from initial weakness to end Monday’s session modestly higher, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Tuesday.

The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually ending the day in negative territory.

The Dow slid 398.21 points or 0.8 percent to 49,191.99, the Nasdaq edged down 24.03 points or 0.1 percent to 23,709.87 and the S&P 500 dipped 13.53 points or 0.2 percent to 6,963.74.

The Dow pulled back off the record closing high set on Monday amid a slump by shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), with the financial giant tumbling by 4.2 percent.

JPMorgan came pressure after reporting fourth quarter profits that decreased year-over-year, although its adjusted earnings exceeded analyst estimates.

The choppy trading by the broader markets may reflected uncertainty about the near-term outlook amid rising geopolitical tensions around the world and a flurry of proposals by President Donald Trump.

Trump has recently called for a one-year cap on credit card rates at 10 percent and has also said defense companies should not be permitted to issue dividends or stock buybacks and that large institutional investors should be banned from buying single-family homes.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of December.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.3 percent in December, matching economist expectations.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent in December. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices came in at 2.7 percent in December, unchanged from November and in line with estimates.

The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices was also unchanged from the previous month at 2.6 percent, while economists had expected an uptick to 2.7 percent.

Airline stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.0 percent.

Notable weakness was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.

Banking stocks also saw notable weakness, while energy stocks turned in a strong performance amid a spike by the price of crude oil. Networking and steel stocks also saw some strength on the day.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are jumping $0.69 to $61.84 a barrel after surging $1.65 to $61.15 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,641, up $41.90 compared to the previous session’s close of $4,599.10. On Tuesday, gold fell $15.60.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.62 yen compared to the 159.12 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1645 compared to yesterday’s $1.1641.

Asia

Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday, with Fed rate cut expectations and reports of an imminent snap election in Japan helping underpin investor sentiment.

Traders awaited a possible U.S. Supreme Court ruling on President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, with speculators assigning a 73 percent chance that the court will declare Trump’s tariffs illegal.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent assured the department has sufficient funds to pay any potential tariff refunds.

Trump said in a Truth Social post earlier this week that the financial exposure would go beyond tariff revenues already collected.

The dollar index consolidated in a tiny range in Asian trading and gold surged more than 1 percent to scale a new record high above $4,635 an ounce, while oil edged lower after the biggest four-day advance in more than six months.

Chinese shares gave up early gains to end lower after authorities lifted the minimum margin requirement for financing stock purchases to curb excessive speculation in capital markets. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended down 0.3 percent at 4,126.09.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.6 percent to 26,999.81 after China announced record export numbers for 2025.

Japanese markets hit another record high after media reports suggested that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call a general election to capitalize on strong public support for her government.

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.5 percent to 54,341.23, ending above 54,000 for the first time amid hopes that a bigger majority for Takaichi will help her implement her agenda of more “proactive” fiscal spending. The broader Topix Index settled 1.3 percent higher at 3,644.16.

The yen fell to its weakest level in a year-and-a-half and Japan’s five-year government bond auction drew the weakest demand since August as investors weighed the possibility of a snap election.

Seoul stocks extended their winning streak to a ninth session as in-line U.S. CPI data reinforced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate pause. The Kospi climbed 0.7 percent to 4,723.10, closing above the 4,700-point mark for the first time, driven by strong gains in tech and auto shares.

Samsung Electronics rallied 2 percent, Hanmi Semiconductor surged 2.7 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 1.4 percent and Kia Corp. soared 5.2 percent.

Australian markets edged up slightly as higher commodity prices lifted mining and energy stocks, offsetting losses in the banking sector.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index crept up 0.1 percent to 8,820.60, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 0.2 percent at 9,151.80.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index advanced 0.7 percent to 13,757.71, snapping a three-day losing streak.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Wednesday ahead of an upcoming meeting between U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials to discuss the Arctic island’s future.

Markets also await the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the reciprocal tariff imposed by President Donald Trump.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is just below the unchanged line and the German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent.

BP Plc shares have slid. The British energy giant has warned it would take an impairment charge of between $4 and $5 billion in the fourth quarter.

Education company Pearson has also moved sharply lower after reporting 8 percent sales growth in the fourth quarter.

Recruiter Hays has also moved to the downside after posting a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly fees.

Meanwhile, energy firms RWE and SSE have risen. They were among the project developers to win guaranteed electricity price contracts in Britain’s latest offshore wind power auction.

U.S. Economic News

Retail sales in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in November after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in October.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales grew by 0.5 percent in November after inching up by 0.2 percent in October. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.4 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed a modest increase by U.S. producer prices in the month of November.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.2 percent in November after inching up by 0.1 percent in October. The uptick in prices matched economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of growth by producer prices accelerated to 3.0 percent in November from 2.8 percent in October. Economists had expected annual producer price growth to come in at 2.7 percent.

At 9:50 am ET, Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Anna Paulson is due to speak on the economic outlook before a Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia State of the Economy event.

The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of December at 10 am ET.

Existing home sales are expected to jump by 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.23 million in December after rising by 0.5 to an annual rate of 4.13 million in November.

Also 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on business inventories in the month of October. Business inventories are expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran is also scheduled to speaks on “Regulations, the Supply Side, and Monetary Policy” at a Delphi Economic Forum Lecture at 10 am ET.

At 10:30 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended January 9th.

Crude oil inventories are expected to decrease by 2.2 million barrels after slumping by 3.8 million barrels in the previous week.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic is scheduled to participate in a moderated discussion on the economy as part of an Atlanta Business Chronicle 2026 Economic Outlook event at 12 pm ET.

Also at 12 pm ET, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari is due to participate in a virtual town hall conversation hosted by the Wisconsin Bankers Association.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, at 2 pm ET.

At 2:10 pm ET, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is due to deliver opening remarks before “An Economy That Works for All: Financial Inclusion” event.