Wednesday's Stock Market Open: US Equities Open Slightly Higher As House Prepares To Impeach Trump

U.S. stocks traded mildly higher at noon on Wednesday as the House of Representatives prepare to vote on the impeachment of President Donald Trump, while traders await any new details on China trade deals.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35 of a point points to 28,267.51 while the S&P 500 edged up 1.9 points to 3,194.42 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 19.27 points to 8,842.63.

The House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on two articles of impeachment against Trump, setting up another vote in the U.S. Senate in January.

But markets do not seem fazed by Trump’s impeachment inquiry since he’s likely to be acquitted by Republicans in the Senate.

“There looks almost certain to be no political payoff for markets to worry about from this epic impeachment saga -- except perhaps to enthuse Republican voters and make Trump 2020 more, not less, likely,” said Michael Every, a strategist at Rabobank, in a note.

Traders will also keep an eye out for any more developments in the ongoing U.S.-China trade deal.

“In the absence of fresh details on the terms of the deal or when it is expected to be signed, there was some nervousness in the markets,” said Raffi Boyadjian, senior investment analyst at XM. “However, even without any new drivers, the injection of positive sentiment from the announcement of the deal is likely to be enough to last till the end of the year as trading winds down during the Christmas and New Year period.”

Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans will deliver a speech in Indiana at 12:40 p.m.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said total mortgage application volume fell by 5% from the prior week.

In the U.K., the consumer price index came in at 1.5% in November, the lowest level in three years, ahead of a policy meeting at the Bank of England on Thursday.

“There are growing calls that the bank may be set to loosen policy in the coming months, although the key determinant will likely be how they view the election result and what this means going forward,” said David Cheetham, chief market analyst at online financial trading firm XTB.

U.K. house price growth in October slumped to its lowest annual rate in more than seven years, hurt by falling prices in London. The average price of a home in the U.K. rose by 0.7% to £233,000 ($304,000), the weakest such growth rate since September 2012.

German business sentiment, the Ifo business-climate index, improved in December at 96.3 points, climbing from an upwardly revised 95.1 points in November. "The German economy is heading into the New Year with more confidence," said Ifo's President Clemens Fuest.

Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) agreed to merge with Peugeot owner PSA Group in a $50 billion deal. The transaction is expected to close in the next 12 to 15 months.

FedEx (FDX) reduced its earnings targets for the fourth time this year, forecasting earnings of between $10.25 and $11.50 per share for the current fiscal year, versus its earlier forecast of between $11 and $13 earnings per share issued in September. FedEx recorded a 40% profit drop in the fiscal second quarter.

General Mills (GIS) reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $0.95 per share, beating analysts’ expectations.

Overnight in Asia, markets finished mixed. The Hang Seng gained 0.15% while Japan’s Nikkei-225 slipped 0.55% and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.18%.

European markets finished mixed with the FTSE 100 up 0.37% while Germany's DAX fell 0.43% and France's CAC 40 skipped 0.02%.

Crude oil futures were flat at $60.94 per barrel and Brent crude was up 0.09% at $66.16. Gold futures slipped 0.07%.

The euro fell 0.36% at $1.113 while the pound sterling dropped 0.44% at $1.3074.