Futures Point To Broadly Lower Open For Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks against Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait following U.S. strikes on Iranian targets. The U.S. warned it would hit Tehran "much harder" if escalations continued. There were reports of airstrikes and at least two oil tankers were struck by mines.

Investors continue to be concerned by rising energy costs.

In the Asian trading session, oil prices held steady. Brent crude futures edged up 0.3 percent to $94.96 a barrel.

Gold prices hit a four-week low. Spot gold dipped half a percent to $4,309.07 an ounce while U.S. gold futures were down 0.9 percent at $4,356.79 an ounce.

As of 7.50 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 83.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 4.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 85.00 points.

The U.S. major averages ended Wednesday firmly negative. The Nasdaq slumped 271.11 points or 1 percent to 26,099.77, the Dow slid 419.02 points or 0.8 percent to 52,766.88 and the S&P 500 fell 54.67 points or 0.7 percent to 7,631.47.

On the economic front, the ADP Employment Report for August will be issued at 8.15 am ET. The consensus is 48,000, while it was up 44,000 in the prior month.

The Factory Orders for July will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is up 0.5 percent, while it was down 0.3 percent in the prior month.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Petroleum Status Report for the week is schedueled at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the crude oil inventories were up 0.1 million barrels and gasoline inventorie were down 2.5 million barrels.

The Beige Book, which is prepared roughly two weeks before the Fed monetary policy meeting at 2.00 pm ET.

The Labor Department's Jobless Claims for the week will be released on Thursday at 8.30 am ET.

Asian stocks fell sharply on Wednesday. China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.97 percent to 3,941.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished marginally lower at 25,311.21.

Japanese markets tumbled. The Nikkei average fell 2.85 percent to 64,325.64. The broader Topix index closed 2.40 percent lower at 4,081.60.

Australian markets fell sharply. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.97 percent to 8,978.40, extending losses for a third consecutive session. The broader All Ordinaries index settled 1.09 percent lower at 9,160.30.