U.S. stocks futures were set to open higher on Wednesday with Nasdaq futures outperforming as investors pour back into cheap tech stocks.
Global equities were given a shot-in-the-arm this morning after the European Central Bank issued a statement clarifying President Mario Draghi's remarks from Tuesday. The ECB said his statements about monetary accommodation -- which sent the euro to a one year high and Euro-zone equities spiralling -- were "misjudged" and were intended to "strike a balance between strength in the [EU]" and need for monetary accommodation.
As a result, Dow futures were now 75 points above fair value, lagging gains in S&P and Nasdaq futures.
At 8:30am ET, data released showed a narrower-than-expected trade deficit in goods of $65.9 billion from a revised deficit of $67.1 billion in April. This exceeded expectations for a deficit of $66.0 billion.
At 10am ET, the pending home sales index is expected to increase by 0.5% in May.
Wall Street will also be keeping an eye on the weekly oil inventory data from the Energy Information Administration at 10:30am ET. Another decrease in supply to match the 2.5 million barrel drop last week could keep oil futures afloat for a fifth consecutive day.
In corporate news, shares of Pandora ( P ) were trading higher after the company's CEO, Tim Westergren, announced his resignation on Tuesday.
Also, shares of Spectranetics ( SPNC ) were soaring in pre-market after receiving a $38.50 per share acquisition offer from Koninklijke Phillips ( PHG ).
-Dow Jones Industrial up 0.17%
-S&P 500 futures up 0.27%
-Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.24%
SENTIMENT
Nikkei down 0.47%
Hang Seng down 0.61%
Shanghai Composite down 0.54%
FTSE-100 up 0.03%
DAX-30 down 0.42%
PRE-MARKET SECTOR WATCH
(+/-) Large cap tech: Higher
(+/-) Chip stocks: Higher
(+/-) Software stocks: Flat
(+/-) Hardware stocks: Higher
(+/-) Internet stocks: Higher
(+/-) Oil stocks: Mixed
(+/-) Biotech stocks: Mixed
(+/-) Drug stocks: Lower
(+/-) Financial stocks: Higher
(+/-) Retail stocks: Higher
(+/-) Industrial stocks: Mixed
(+/-) Airlines: Flat
(+/-) Autos: Higher
UPSIDE MOVERS:
(+) SPNC (+26.00%) Received acquisition bid from Phillips ( PHG ) for $38.50 per share
(+) AMCN (+13.91%) Signs amendment to merger agMeement for going private transaction
(+) NVIV (+12.73%) Reported positive motor recovery assessments in Inspire study
DOWNSIDE MOVERS:
(-) GMRE (-9.46%) Priced 3.5 mln share offering at $9 per share
(-) AVAV (-8.83%) Guided Q2 below forecasts
(-) PIR (-1.69%) Expected to report a loss of $0.05 per share after the close
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
