Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the modest pullback seen in the previous session.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement this afternoon.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the announcement could impact the outlook for rates.

Investors are also looking ahead to the release of earnings news from Magnificent Seven members Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) after the close of today's trading.

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report also remains on traders' minds along with President Donald Trump's August 1st tariff deadline.

Trump announced in a post on Truth Social this morning that a 25 percent tariff will be imposed on imports on India beginning on Friday.

After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs before ending the day in negative territory.

The Dow fell 204.57 points or 0.5 percent to 44,632.99, the Nasdaq declined 80.29 points or 0.4 percent to 21,098.29 and the S&P 500 dipped 18.91 points or 0.3 percent to 6,370.86.

The pullback on Wall Street may have reflected profit taking following the upward trend seen over the past several sessions, which saw the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reach new record highs.

However, traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

Traders also continued to keep an eye on trade talks between the U.S. and China in Stockholm ahead of Friday's "reciprocal tariff" deadline.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that most trading partners that do not negotiate separate trade deals would soon face tariffs of 15 percent to 20 percent on their exports to the United States.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing consumer confidence in the U.S. saw a modest improvement in the month of July.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 97.2 in July after falling to a revised 95.2 in June.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to increase to 95.8 from the 93.0 originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department released a separate report showing job openings in the U.S. decreased by slightly less than expected in the month of June.

Pharmaceutical stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the dragging, dragging the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index down by 2.6 percent.

Significant weakness was also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent slump by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Oil service and steel stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while commercial real estate, natural gas and utilities stocks showed strong moves to the upside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are rising $0.16 to $69.37 a barrel after surging $2.50 to $69.21 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $3,320.80, down $3.20 compared to the previous session's close of $3,324. On Tuesday, gold climbed $14.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 148.72 yen compared to the 148.46 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1486 compared to yesterday's $1.1547.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed in cautious trading on Wednesday as caution prevailed ahead of big U.S. tech earnings, the Fed and BoJ rate decisions, and the August 1 tariff deadline. Upcoming U.S. inflation and jobs data also remained on investors' radar.

U.S. and Chinese officials concluded two days of talks in Stockholm, but there was no agreement on a tariff truce extension. U.S. officials said President Trump will decide whether to extend truce.

Treasuries held steady in Asian trading after climbing the most in a month in the previous session. Copper and gold edged up as the dollar weakened after hitting a more than one-month high on Tuesday.

Oil held its biggest gain in six weeks as Trump reiterated that further levies on Russia remained on the table without a Ukraine truce.

China's Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.2 percent at 3,615.72 after hitting a six-month high earlier on eased concerns over U.S. tariff threats.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 1.4 percent to 25,176.93 on concerns about Chinese growth in the second half of the year.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its global growth forecasts for 2025 and 2026 slightly but warned of major risks including higher tariff rates, geopolitical tensions and larger fiscal deficits.

Japanese markets fluctuated before ending on a flat note after a powerful 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering a tsunami that sent waves crashing into coastal areas and prompting alerts across the Pacific.

The Nikkei 225 Index finished marginally lower at 40,654.70 ahead of the Bank of Japan's interest-rate decision on Thursday, with no change in interest rates expected. The broader Topix Index settled 0.4 percent higher at 2,920.18.

ANA Holdings tumbled 4.1 percent and Advantest dropped 1.1 percent after announcing their earnings results while Sumitomo Pharma surged 16.3 percent after a rating upgrade by JPMorgan.

Seoul stocks extended gains for a sixth consecutive session as investors waited for a trade deal between Seoul and Washington. The Kospi closed up 0.7 percent at 3,254.47, with technology stocks and automakers pacing the gainers.

Australian markets rose notably after the headline inflation rate in the second quarter of the year slipped to its lowest point since March 2021, supporting the case for a rate cut.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.6 percent to 8,756.40, reaching a record high led by rate-sensitive banks and real estate stocks.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.6 percent to 12,855.97, snapping a four-day winning streak.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Wednesday as investors assess mostly positive regional data and a slew of corporate earnings.

German GDP fell 0.1 percent sequentially in the second quarter, in line with forecasts and reversing the downwardly revised 0.3 percent growth in the first quarter, according to preliminary figures from Destatis.

German retail sales posted stronger-than-expected monthly growth of 1.0 percent in June, in contrast to the revised 0.6 percent drop in May.

France's GDP grew 0.3 percent from a quarter ago in the second quarter on recovering householding spending, the statistical office INSEE said.

While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

Casino Group shares jumped 36 percent in Paris after the company maintained its objective of returning to break-even free cash-flow before financial expenses in 2026, as set out in its Renouveau 2028 strategic plan.

Luxury house Hermes International tumbled 3.2 percent after reporting a decline in first-half profit.

Worldline, a global leader in payment services, slumped 5.7 percent after widening its first-half loss.

Food conglomerate Danone soared 7 percent after posting second-quarter comparable sales growth ahead of views.

German sportswear giant Adidas lost over 6 percent after warning that it could take a double-digit million euro hit from U.S. tariffs in the second quarter.

Automakers Mercedes Benz and Porsche were moving lower after slashing their profit forecasts.

BASF gained 1 percent despite the chemical giant revealing a mixed performance across its business segments in its second quarter 2025 results.

Medical technology company Siemens Healthineers rose 1.3 percent as third-quarter revenue came in above expectations.

Spain's largest bank Banco Santander tumbled nearly 3 percent after it disclosed an unexpected charge at its Brazilian business in the second quarter.

Swiss lender UBS added 1.1 percent after posting higher than expected profit in the second quarter.

U.K. homebuilder Taylor Wimpey plummeted 5 percent after cutting its FY2 profit guidance.

BAE Systems, a provider of defense, aerospace and security solutions, fell nearly 2 percent despite upgrading its full-year guidance.

GSK gained 1 percent. After posting better-than-expected second-quarter results, the drug maker said it expects annual sales and profit to be towards the top of its forecast range.

Lender HSBC declined 2.6 percent after reporting a 26 percent slide in first-half pretax profit.

U.S. Economic News

Payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of July.

The report said private sector employment jumped by 104,000 jobs in July after slipping by a revised 23,000 jobs in June.

Economists had expected private sector employment to climb by 78,000 jobs compared to the dip of 33,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

"Our hiring and pay data are broadly indicative of a healthy economy," said ADP chief economist Dr. Nela Richardson. "Employers have grown more optimistic that consumers, the backbone of the economy, will remain resilient."

The Commerce Department released a separate report on Wednesday showing the U.S. economy rebounded by more than expected in the second quarter of 2025.

The report said real gross domestic product surged by 3.0 percent in the second quarter after falling by 0.5 percent in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to jump by 2.5 percent.

The rebound by real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected a decrease in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and an increase in consumer spending, the Commerce Department said.

At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on pending home sales in the month of June. Pending home sales are expected to rise by 0.2 percent in June after jumping by 1.8 percent in May.

The Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on crude oil inventories in the week ended July 25th at 10:30 am ET. Crude oil inventories are expected to decrease by 2.5 million barrels after falling by 3.2 million barrels in the previous week.

At 2 pm ET, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference at 2:30 pm ET.