After heavy losses during yesterday’s session with the DOW posting its biggest one day fall since early January, US index futures are indicating a slightly more positive start to Wednesday’s trade, although it’s difficult to see this as being anything more than a very modest relief rally. The prospect of higher import tariffs being levied on Chinese goods by the Trump administration from the end of this week continues to blight market sentiment as failure to reach an accord will serve up a fresh blow for global trade.
The fact this could be little more than a bargaining gambit cannot be ignored however so developments in the coming days could see volatility maintained.
Earnings season rolls on with today’s highlights set to include Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) and burger chain Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN), but economic data is expected to be thin on the ground. Oil inventories will be under scrutiny however given the discrepancy over last week’s print against forecasts and again could cause some price action both for the underlying asset and the relevant petrochemicals stocks. The big driver however is likely to revolve around progress in the trade talks which are due to resume tomorrow, just a matter of hours before the new tariffs are scheduled to come into force.
Ahead of the open, the market is calling the Dow up 110 at 26075 and the S&P 500 up 14 at 2898.