After ending yesterday’s choppy trading day modestly lower, stocks may see further downside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4 percent.
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.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.5 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. 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.
In commodities trading, 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.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May See Further Downside In Early Trading
2026-01-14 13:58:29
