US Markets May Open Lower: Oil Up, Gold Steady

Top stock index futures in the U.S traded lower on Wednesday morning, after President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. At 3 a.m. ET, Dow futures were down 48 points, hinting negative open of more than 80 points. Futures of S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also traded lower.

For Wednesday, there are many corporate earnings to watch. They include General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, Softbank, Toyota, Chipotle Mexican Grill, FireEye, NewMarket and Sonos.

The data on U.S. trade deficit and productivity will also come out Wednesday.

Asia shares were up on Wednesday after investors went by the second State of the Union address of President Trump. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.14 percent. Australian shares recouped early losses as the benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.34 percent. Many regional markets in Asia were closed due to holidays.

Mixed trends graced European stocks Wednesday morning. The Stoxx 600 was unchanged from the previous session with many sectors and major bourses moving in opposite directions.

Losses hit auto stocks and slid 0.6 percent. Shares of German carmaker Daimler fell 2 percent after it booked 22 percent slide in operating profit in the last three months of 2018.

Oil slightly up

Oil prices edged up on Wednesday but worries on the global economic outlook and demand compression capped gains.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.74 per barrel at 0153 GMT, up by 8 cents from the last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures moved to $62.05 per barrel, up 7 cents, after closing down 0.8 percent in the previous session. Tightening global supplies are supporting oil prices.

Alfonso Esparza, market analyst with OANDA noted that the State of the Union gave no hints to the U.S.-China deal.

Gold prices were firm on Wednesday after Trump’s State of the Union speech reiterated the plan to build a border wall without any clarity on trade talks with China. However, a stronger dollar did not let the bullion make immediate gains. The dollar index is at a two-week high.

Spot gold was at $1,314.30 per ounce, as of 0546 GMT. U.S. gold futures also firmed up at $1,318.20 an ounce.