U.S. Stocks May Move To The Upside Following Tame Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, stocks are likely to move mostly higher in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.

The futures moved to the upside following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in the month of June.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand was unchanged in June after rising by an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in May.

Economists had expected producer prices to increase by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.3 percent in June from an upwardly revised 2.7 percent in May.

The annual rate of producer price growth was expected to edge down to 2.5 percent from the 2.6 percent originally reported for the previous month.

Early buying interest may also be generated in reaction to some upbeat earnings news, with shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) jumping by 2.1 percent in pre-market trading after the healthcare giant reported better than expected second quarter results and raised its full-year guidance.

Bank of America (BAC) is also seeing notable pre-market strength after the company reported second quarter earnings that exceeded expectations.

Fellow financial giants Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) also reported better than expected second quarter earnings.

Just before the start of trading, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of June. Industrial production is expected to inch up by 0.1 percent in June after slipping by 0.2 percent in May.

Stocks moved mostly higher early in the session on Tuesday but gave back ground over the course of the trading day. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session before eventually closing mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 37.47 points or 0.2 percent to a new record closing high of 20,677.80, the S&P 500 fell 24.80 points or 0.4 percent to 6,243.76 and the Dow slumped 436.36 points or 1.0 percent to 44,023.29.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index closed just below the unchanged line, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks have moved mostly higher on the day. The German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, although the French CAC 40 Index is nearly flat.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are declining $0.67 to $65.85 a barrel after falling $0.46 to $66.52 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $3,341.20, up $4.50 compared to the previous session's close of $3,336.70. On Tuesday, gold slid $22.40.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 148.54 yen compared to the 148.88 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1609 compared to yesterday's $1.1601.