Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately higher open on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a highly anticipated European Union summit this week and as market eyed the release of U.S. economic data later in the day.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.03%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% gain.
Hopes that European leaders would make progress on dealing with the debt crisis in the euro area faded after German Chancellor Angel Merkel reiterated her opposition to the idea of joint euro zone bonds on Tuesday.
Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of talks between Chancellor Merkel and French President François Hollande later, ahead of the EU summit meeting on Thursday and Friday.
Earlier Wednesday, Italy saw borrowing costs climb to the highest level since December at an auction of six-month government bonds, as investor sentiment towards Italy continued to deteriorate.
Meanwhile, investor confidence found some support amid growing expectations for further easing measures in China.
Retailers were expected to be in focus, beginning with Best Buy amid reports founder Richard Schulze is working with banks including Credit Suisse to explore a potential private takeover of the world's largest consumer electronics retailer.
The tech sector was also likely to be active, as Google was planning to unveil a USD199 tablet co-branded with Tawian's Asustek Computer at its developer conference this week, taking direct aim at Apple’s iPad. Google shares rose 0.41% in after hour trade.
Meanwhile, shares in Apple were up 0.21% in early trading after a judge on Tuesday backed the company’s request to stop Samsung Electronics from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the U.S., giving the iPhone maker a significant win in the global smartphone and tablet patent wars.
In the Internet sector, Facebook edged up 0.18% in pre-market trade, after surging more than 3% on Tuesday, as Wall Street's top financial firms gave the social media giant a cautious nod of approval when delivering their assessments of the company.
Analysts said they see significant long-term potential for Facebook and expect it to corner a substantial share of the global Internet advertising market.
Elsewhere, drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Tuesday that its board authorized the repurchase of USD3 billion of the company's common stock in addition to the USD3 billion share buyback program it announced in 2010, sending shares up 0.78% in after hour trade.
Other stocks in focus included Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., after shares rallied over 8% on Tuesday upon official confirmation that the company will likely be divided into two separate entities.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.43%, Germany's DAX added 0.34%, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.33%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.8%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on durable goods orders, as well as industry data on pending home sales and a government report on crude oil stockpiles.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.03%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% gain.
Hopes that European leaders would make progress on dealing with the debt crisis in the euro area faded after German Chancellor Angel Merkel reiterated her opposition to the idea of joint euro zone bonds on Tuesday.
Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of talks between Chancellor Merkel and French President François Hollande later, ahead of the EU summit meeting on Thursday and Friday.
Earlier Wednesday, Italy saw borrowing costs climb to the highest level since December at an auction of six-month government bonds, as investor sentiment towards Italy continued to deteriorate.
Meanwhile, investor confidence found some support amid growing expectations for further easing measures in China.
Retailers were expected to be in focus, beginning with Best Buy amid reports founder Richard Schulze is working with banks including Credit Suisse to explore a potential private takeover of the world's largest consumer electronics retailer.
The tech sector was also likely to be active, as Google was planning to unveil a USD199 tablet co-branded with Tawian's Asustek Computer at its developer conference this week, taking direct aim at Apple’s iPad. Google shares rose 0.41% in after hour trade.
Meanwhile, shares in Apple were up 0.21% in early trading after a judge on Tuesday backed the company’s request to stop Samsung Electronics from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the U.S., giving the iPhone maker a significant win in the global smartphone and tablet patent wars.
In the Internet sector, Facebook edged up 0.18% in pre-market trade, after surging more than 3% on Tuesday, as Wall Street's top financial firms gave the social media giant a cautious nod of approval when delivering their assessments of the company.
Analysts said they see significant long-term potential for Facebook and expect it to corner a substantial share of the global Internet advertising market.
Elsewhere, drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Tuesday that its board authorized the repurchase of USD3 billion of the company's common stock in addition to the USD3 billion share buyback program it announced in 2010, sending shares up 0.78% in after hour trade.
Other stocks in focus included Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., after shares rallied over 8% on Tuesday upon official confirmation that the company will likely be divided into two separate entities.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.43%, Germany's DAX added 0.34%, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.33%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.8%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on durable goods orders, as well as industry data on pending home sales and a government report on crude oil stockpiles.