Stocks set for shaky start

By CNNMoney.com staff


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set for a shaky start Wednesday, as investors mulled the previous session's run up and awaited a slew of economic readings.

At 8 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), Nasdaq (COMP) and S&P 500 (SPX) futures were all about 0.3% lower.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

U.S. markets rallied Tuesday as concerns about Europe's debt woes eased. The Dow gained 2.1%, the S&P 500 jumped 2.4% and the Nasdaq climbed 2.8%.

Economy: Investors are bracing for a day chock full of economic readings.

A report on housing starts and building permits comes out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Also due at that time is a reading on inflation at the wholesale level.

At 9:15 a.m. ET, a report on capacity utilization and industrial production is due to be released.

Companies: Stocks to watch include, FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) which is due to report its latest financial results before the opening bell.

Gulf oil spill: President Obama is due to meet BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg Wednesday.

The meeting comes a day after Obama, during an Oval Office address, vowed to make BP (BP) pay for the costs of cleaning up the oil disaster.

World markets: European shares rose in early trading, although gains were modest. Britain's FTSE 100, the CAC 40 in France and Germany's DAX were all slightly higher.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei rallied 1.8%. Markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China were closed for a holiday.

Dollar and commodities: The euro, British pound and Japanese yen posted slight losses against the dollar.

U.S. light crude oil for July delivery fell 51 cents to $76.43 a barrel. COMEX gold's August contract added 30 cents to $1,234.70 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices inched up, lowering the 10-year note's yield to 3.29% from 3.31% the day before. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.