Wall Street Might Open Lower

(RTTNews) - Reports on private sector employment and first quarter GDP might get attention on Wednesday.

In the Asian trading session, the dollar drifted lower. Gold dipped towards $3,300 per ounce while oil prices slipped.

Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading broadly higher.

Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower.

As of 8.10 am ET, the Dow futures were down 31.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 31.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were falling 175.25 points.

The U.S. major averages ended Tuesday firmly positive. The Dow jumped 300.03 points or 0.8 percent to 40,527.62, the S&P 500 climbed 32.08 points or 0.6 percent to 5,560.83 and the Nasdaq rose 95.18 points or 0.6 percent to 17,461.32.

On the economic front, the ADP Employment Report for April will be released at 8.15 am ET. The consensus is 125K, while it was up 155K in the prior month.

The Commerce Department's Gross Domestic Product or GDP for the first quarter is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for growth of 0.2 percent, while it was up 2.4 percent in the prior quarter.

The Labor Department's Employment Cost Index for the first quarter will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.9 percent, while it was up 0.9 percent in the prior quarter.

The Chicago PMI for April will be issued at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is 45.8. while it was at 47.6 in the prior month.

The Personal Income and Outlays for March will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.4 percent, while it was up 0.8 percent in the prior month.

The Pending Home Sales Index for March will be revealed at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 1.0 percent, while it was up 2.0 percent in the prior month.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Petroleum Status Report for the week is expected at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the crude oil inventories were up 0.2 million barrels and the gasoline inventories were down 4.5 million barrels.

The Agriculture Department's Farm Prices for March will be published at 3.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the prices were up 13.5 percent.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday. Chinese shares ended lower. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.23 percent to 3,279.03 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up by 0.51 percent to 22,119.41.

Japanese markets advanced. The Nikkei average climbed 0.57 percent to 36,045.38. The broader Topix index closed 0.63 percent higher at 2,667.29.

Australian markets rose for a fifth day. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.69 percent to 8,126.20. The broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.64 percent higher at 8,341.

European shares are trading mostly up. CAC 40 of France is gaining 26.81 points or 0.35 percent. DAX of Germany is progressing 103.74 points or 0.46 percent. FTSE 100 of England is adding 10.07 points or 0.12 percent. The Swiss Market Index is climbing 66.76 points or 0.55 percent.

Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.078 percent.