US Stocks To Open Higher As Investors Eye China Trade Talks, Fed

The U.S. stock index futures climbed slightly Wednesday morning as investors awaited guidance from the Federal Reserve and watched the progress in trade talks between the U.S. and China.

At 03:30 a.m. EST, Dow futures jumped 28 points, hinting to a moderately higher opening. Both S&P and Nasdaq futures are also pointer to a higher opening.

The market focus is clearly on trade developments.

Many companies will report earnings Wednesday. These include Alibaba, Novartis, Boeing, Anthem, McDonald’s, Nasdaq OMX and Royal Caribbean before the bell. After the bell, it will be the turn of Facebook and Microsoft.

The mood in the European markets was slightly lower Wednesday morning. There too investors are watching for the the Federal Reserve monetary policy guidance and the direction of U.S.-China trade talks.

The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index lost 0.1 percent shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors staying in the negative zone.

Mixed Trends In Asia

Stock market trends in Asia also suggest investors looking to the U.S.-China trade talks for clues. Stocks showed mixed trends in Wednesday afternoon trade. A mild recovery in the mainland Chinese markets was visible when the morning session ended, with some intermittent declines.

The Shanghai composite inched up slightly while the Shenzhen component made a 0.231 percent jump. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index moved up 0.29 percent. In Japan, Nikkei 225 was down 0.28 percent in afternoon trade while the Topix fell 0.17 percent.

Oil, Gold Rise

For oil, gains were posted by both international Brent and U.S. crude futures. Prices jumped Wednesday over concerns on supply disruptions in the aftermath of the U.S. sanctions on the oil industry in Venezuela. The supply concerns elbowed out anxieties about the global economic outlook.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $53.43 for a barrel at 0333 GMT. This is 0.2 percent above the last settlement. Washington had slapped export sanctions against Venezuela’s public sector oil company Monday.

Gold prices zoomed to reach their highest since May 2018. The rise was backed by the uncertainty over U.S.-China trade relations and expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates.

Spot gold jumped 0.2 percent at $1,313.91 per ounce by 0245 GMT. U.S. gold futures also moved up 0.3 percent to touch $1,312.30 per ounce. ​