(RTTNews) - The European stock index futures point towards a higher opening on Wednesday, as investor digest a string of company results. However, Asian stocks, with the exception of Japan, snapped a 11-day rally on Wednesday amid lower commodity prices and profit taking after recent strong rallies.
British mortgage approvals and producer prices from France are among the economic reports scheduled to be released in Europe. Annually, producer prices are likely to decline by by 8.6%, larger than the 7.8% decrease reported in May. On a monthly basis, economists forecast a 0.1% drop. U.K.'s mortgage approvals in June is expected to rise to 47,000. At the same time, net consumer credit is forecast to rise GBP 0.3 billion. Investors also look forward to data on durable goods orders from the U.S.
The U.K. government is set to announce a GBP 1 billion scheme to create jobs mainly for the youth in the public sector, reports said Wednesday citing Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper. The scheme will remove 150,000 persons from the unemployment registers over the next two years, with the scheme mostly to be funded by councils, quangos and charities.
On the forex front, the British pound edged down against the U.S. dollar during early deals on Wednesday. At 2:10 am ET, the pound-dollar pair touched a 2-day low of 1.6390, compared to 1.6430 hit late New York Tuesday.
Wall Street ended Tuesday's session on a mixed note in reaction to the day's varied earnings and economic reports. Moving in a choppy fashion right through the day, the major averages closed on opposite sides of the unchanged mark, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a modest 0.39% gain.
On the economic front, according to a release from the Consumer Conference Board, the consumer confidence index fell to 46.6 in July, reflecting less favorable assessments of both current conditions and the near-term outlook. Separately, a report from Standard and Poor's showed that although U.S. home prices continued to decline at a significant annual rate in the month of May, the pace of decline in prices slowed for the fourth consecutive month.
Crude oil futures finished lower on Tuesday, surrendering some recent gains, on demand concerns after data released by the American Petroleum Institute showed a larger-than-expected increase in crude inventories last week. After settling at $67.23 a barrel, down $1.15 in New York trading on Tuesday, light sweet crude for September delivery dropped further to $66.55 in Asian trading on Wednesday on renewed concerns about the U.S. economy. Traders await the release of inventory report from the U.S. Energy Administration department later in the day.
