By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen opening higher Wednesday, continuing the recent rally, after it stalled during the previous session, ahead of more retail earnings.
At 7:05 AM ET (1205 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 70 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures traded 10 points, or 0.3%, higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 30 points, or 0.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 80 points, or 0.2%, lower on Wall Street Tuesday, the S&P 500 dropped 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was largely unchanged.
This setback followed strong recent gains amid optimism over the economic rebound as the country reopens and with the U.S. set to reach a 50% vaccination rate for adults.
This improving sentiment is pushing investors into corners of the market like airlines, cruise operators and other leisure-related stocks.
Elsewhere, the retail sector is likely to be in focus Wednesday, with the likes of Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) and American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) set to report quarterly earnings.
Additionally, Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) stock fell over 5% premarket after the company missed first-quarter earnings expectations after the close Tuesday, while Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) stock jumped over 9% following better-than-expected quarterly results.
There are also a number of tech companies reporting results, including Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY), Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).
The data slate is largely empty Wednesday, but investors will keep close attention on a speech from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles on Wednesday as concerns surrounding inflation and potential tapering continue.
Crude oil prices edged lower Wednesday, despite strong U.S. crude supply data, as traders digest the possible return of Iranian exports.
By 6:30 AM ET, crude was down 0.2% at $65.93 a barrel, while Brent was down 0.1% at $68.44,
Tuesday’s U.S. crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a draw of 439,000 barrels for the week ending May 21, suggesting an improvement in demand after the 620,000-barrel build recorded during the week before.
This puts the focus on the official crude oil supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, due later in the day, where a draw of over 1 million barrels is expected.
However, all eyes are on the talks between Iran and world powers over the potential resumption of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Should the deal be revived, and the U.S. lift sanctions that are currently in place, Iran could add around one to two million barrels per day to the global crude supply.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,907.05/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.2237.