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US pre-open: Futures mostly flat following Tuesday's sell-off

By Iain Gilbert

Date: Wednesday 08 Jul 2020

US pre-open: Futures mostly flat following Tuesday's sell-off

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were pointing to a relatively flat open on Wednesday following the sharp sell-off seen during the prior session.
As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.03%, while S&P 500 futures were 0.11% higher and Nasdaq-100 futures had the index opening 0.28% points firmer.

The Dow closed 396.85 points lower on Tuesday with concerns around the global economic outlook due to the Covid-19 pandemic weighing on sentiment.

Those same concerns also seemed to be in focus ahead of the bell on Wednesday, with investors struggling to shake off fears around the rising number of new Covid-19 cases across the US - with a potentially substantial knock-on effect on confidence in the nation's re-opening efforts.

The total tally of confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the globe hit 11.8m on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University, with the US easily leading the way with its 2.99m cases.

Also in focus, the White House was said to be looking at ways to undermine the Hong Kong dollar versus the US dollar as a potential way to hit China, while Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said it was "probably not" a tactic that will be considered seriously or pursued by the administration, it was definitely one worth watching out for.

"If such a tactic were to be deployed, it could raise risks for Hong Kong banks to access dollars and we could feasibly see ripple effects across the FX space - albeit I don't see the US embarking on any kind of outright manipulation to weaken or strengthen the dollar," he said.

In macro news, following a brief pullback at the end of last month, US homebuyers returned to the mortgage market last week in order to take advantage of all-time-low mortgage rates.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home increased 5% week-on-week and a much sharper 33% year-on-year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"Mortgage rates declined to another record low as renewed fears of a coronavirus resurgence offset the impacts from a week of mostly positive economic data, such as June factory orders and payroll employment," said MBA economist Joel Kan.

"The average purchase loan size increased to $365,700 - also another high - as borrowers contend with limited supply and higher home prices."

Still to come, Fed head Raphael Bostic will deliver a speech at 1715 BST, while consumer credit change figures for May will be posted at 2000 BST.

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