US pre-open: Futures point to losses ahead of Powell address
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 13 Nov 2019
(Sharecast News) - US futures had stocks opening lower on Wednesday as market participants looked forward to an address from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell later in the session.
As of 1235 GMT, Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were both down 0.38%, while Nasdaq-100 futures had the index opening 0.49% lower.
Futures indicated that investors seemed somewhat disappointed by comments overnight from Donald Trump regarding a potential resolution to America and China's protracted trade war.
CMC Markets' David Madden said: "The markets were underwhelmed by the update from President Trump yesterday, hence why stocks are in the red.
"There was a sense of optimism on the run-up to [the] announcement as dealers were hoping Mr Trump would map out his trade strategy, but there was little on that front. Mr Trump mostly spent the time bragging about his administration's own achievements, which didn't encourage traders to get off the fence.
"The update from the Donald wasn't downbeat, but it didn't boost sentiment either, which is why dealers are exiting equities this morning. "
Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Washington and Beijing had reached an impasse in talks as Washington remained undecided about whether it would remove existing tariffs on Chinese exports or simply cancel those duties which had been set to come into effect on 15 December.
The Dow Jones fell just short of registering its tenth record close of the year during the previous session.
On the data front, consumer price index figures will be released at 1330 GMT, while the US monthly budget statement for October will be posted at 1900 GMT.
Perhaps of most interest though, Fed chair Jerome Powell will address the Joint Economic Committee of Congress at 1600 GMT.
In corporate news, Tencent and Cisco will both publish results during the course of the day.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN