WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After ending yesterday's choppy trading day modestly
higher, stocks may move back to the downside in early trading on Wednesday. The
major index futures are currently pointing to a slightly lower open for the
markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.2 percent.

Traders may look to cash in on recent strength in the markets ahead of the
release of quarterly results from AI darling Nvidia (NVDA).

Nvida is scheduled to release its fiscal first quarter results after the close
of today's trading, with analysts expecting the company to report substantial
earnings and revenue growth.

Nonetheless, traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the
release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting
this afternoon.

The minutes could have an impact on the outlook for interest rates following
recent comments from some Fed officials suggesting rates may need to remain
higher for longer than anticipated.

While the likelihood rates will be lower by September remains high, the chances
have fallen to 67.0 percent from close to 90 percent last week, according to CME
Group's FedWatch Tool.

Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is
scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of April.
Existing home sales are expected to rise to an annual rate of 4.21 million in
April after tumbling to a rate of 4.19 million in March.

Among individual stocks, shares of Target (TGT) are moving sharply lower in
pre-market trading after the retail giant reported first quarter earnings that
missed analyst estimates.

Telehealth company Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) is also seeing significant
pre-market weakness after Citi downgraded its rating on the company's stock to
Neutral from Buy.

On the other hand, shares of Analog Devices (ADI) are likely to see initial
strength after the semiconductor company reported fiscal second quarter results
that beat expectations.

E-commerce company Shopify (SHOP) may also move to the upside after Goldman
Sachs upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.

Following the mixed performance seen in Monday's session, stocks showed a lack
of direction throughout much of the trading day on Tuesday. Despite the choppy
trading on the day, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reached new record closing highs.

The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged
but moved to the upside going into the close. The S&P 500 climbed 13.28 points
or 0.3 percent to 5,321.41, the Nasdaq rose 37.75 points or 0.2 percent to
16,832.62 and the Dow edged up 66.22 points or 0.2 percent to 39,872.99.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly
lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent,
while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the
German DAX Index has dipped by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the
French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.7 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slumping $0.74 to $77.92 a barrel
after sliding $0.64 to $78.66 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold
is trading at $2,416.70, down $9.20 compared to the previous session's close of
$2,425.90. On Tuesday, gold fell $12.60.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.57 yen compared to the
156.17 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the
euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0831 compared to yesterday's $1.0854.



Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX