Futures Pointing To Modestly Higher Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - After ending yesterday's choppy trading session little changed, stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up 0.2 percent.

The upward momentum on Wall Street may partly reflect optimism about a potential trade between the U.S. and the European Union.

A report from the Financial Times indicated EU negotiators are closing in on a trade deal with the U.S. that would cement higher tariffs than those granted to the U.K.

Early buying interest may be somewhat subdued, however, as President Donald Trump has announced a 50 percent tariff on copper and threatened to impose higher tariffs on other sectors, including up to a 200 percent levy on pharmaceutical imports.

In a Truth Social post Tuesday evening, Trump said he will "be releasing a minimum of 7 Countries having to do with trade" this morning, with "an additional number of Countries being released in the afternoon."

Later this afternoon, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting.

The Fed minutes may shed additional light on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the central bank's next meeting on July 29-30.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 93.3 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged later this month.

Following the sharp pullback seen during Monday's session, 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 closing narrowly mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 5.95 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 20,418.46, the S&P 500 edged down 4.46 points or 0.1 percent to 6,225.52 and the Dow fell 165.60 points or 0.4 percent to 44,240.76.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 1.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.3 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.05 to $68.38 a barrel after rising $0.40 to $68.33 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $3,299.20, down $17.70 compared to the previous session's close of $3,316.90. On Tuesday, gold tumbled $25.90.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 146.64 yen compared to the 146.58 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1706 compared to yesterday's $1.1725.