(RTTNews) - Reports on retail sales, producer prices, industrial production as well as homebuilder confidence might be the highlight on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting today. Initial cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly higher.
Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading down.
As of 7.35 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 22.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 2.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 16.50 points.
U.S. major indices finished broadly higher on Tuesday. The Dow crept up 64.35 points or 0.2 percent to a new record closing high of 31,522.75, the Nasdaq fell 47.98 points or 0.3 percent to 14,047.50 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.24 points or 0.1 percent to 3,932.59.
On the economic front, the Producer Price Index or PPI Final Demand of the Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.4 percent, while it was up 0.3 percent in the previous month.
The Commerce Department's Retail Sales for January will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 1.1 percent, while it was down 0.7 percent in December.
Redbook data, a weekly measure of comparable store sales at chain stores, discounters, and department stores, will be revealed at 8.55 am ET. In the prior week, the Store Sales were up 0.7 percent.
The Fed Industrial Production for January will be published at 9.15 am ET. The consensus is for growth of 0.5 percent, while it was up 1.6 percent in the prior month.
The Department of Commerce's Business Inventories for December will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for growth of 0.5 percent, while it was up 0.5 percent in November.
National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo's Housing Market Index for February will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 83, while it was up 83 in the prior month.
Twenty-year Treasury Bond auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
The Federal Open Market Committee's minutes of meeting is expected at 2.00 pm ET. Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin will participate in a panel before virtual Maryland Chamber of Commerce State of the State event Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren will participate in moderated question-and-answer session prior to webinar hosted by the Concord Coalition and University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce Law School at 10.00 am ET.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will participate in moderated conversation on national and global economic issues before virtual Global Perspectives series hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas at 6.05 pm ET.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday. Chinese markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index recovered from an early slide to end 1.10 percent higher at 31,084.94.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei average slipped 175.56 points, or 0.58 percent, to 30,292.19, after having finished the previous day at a fresh 30-year 0.18 percent lower at 1,961.49.
Australian markets ended lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended down 32.10 points, or 0.46 percent, at 6,885.20. The broader All Ordinaries index dropped 30.50 points, or 0.42 percent, to 7,158.80.
European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the German DAX is losing 78.15 points or 0.55 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is declining 9.74 points or 0.14 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is tumbling 65.86 points or 0.59 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.19 percent.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
