WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Trading in the U.S. index futures suggest that Wall Street stocks may be on the road to recovery on Wednesday after yesterday's fiasco. Domestic earnings released after the markets closed yesterday were mostly positive, with Apple reporting stellar financial results. Earnings from Yahoo, AT&T and a few tech companies have also been encouraging. Among the global markets, Asian stocks turned in a lackluster performance, while the European markets reversed early gains despite positive German consumer sentiment reading and a few positive domestic earnings.
Given the paucity of major economic data domestically, the U.S. markets may also look towards another batch of earnings scheduled for release ahead of the open and the FOMC statement for drawing some conclusions concerning the Fed's monetary policy stance.
At 6:15 am ET, the Nasdaq 100 futures are adding 27 points, while the Dow futures are declining 53 points and the S&P 500 futures are little changed.
Disappointing earnings reports and mixed economic data weighed down on the markets on Tuesday, sending stocks notably lower.
On the economic front, the Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its petroleum status report for the week ended January 23rd at 10:30 am ET. The Treasury is set to announce the results of its auction of 2-year notes at 1 pm ET.
At 2 pm ET, the Federal Open Market Committee is set to release its post-meeting policy statement following the conclusion of its 2-day meeting.
In corporate news, Apple (AAPL) reported first quarter earnings and revenues that were well ahead of expectations on strong iPhone sales. The company's second quarter revenue guidance was in line.
Yahoo! (YHOO) reported fourth quarter earnings ahead of estimates, while its revenues, excluding traffic acquisition costs, were shy of estimates. Separately, the company said it would sell-off its remaining stake in Alibaba, resulting in the Chinese e-commerce company being spun off into a separately traded independent company.
VMWare (VMW) reported better than expected fourth quarter results and also announced that its board authorized the buy back of up to $1 billion worth of its Class A common stock.
AT&T's (T) fourth quarter earnings were in line and revenues were ahead of estimates on strong subscriber growth. The company also said it expects consolidated revenues and adjusted earnings per share to growth in the low single digit range. Juniper Networks (JNPR) reported better than expected fourth quarter results and announced in line guidance for the first quarter.
Electronic Arts' (EA) third quarter results exceeded estimates and its guidance for fiscal year 2015 was upbeat. Western Digital (WDC) reported better than expected second quarter results and issued lackluster third quarter guidance. Amgen (AMGN) reported better than expected fourth quarter results and reaffirmed its in line full year 2015 earnings and revenue guidance.
Ameriprise Financial (AMP), Facebook (FB), Flextronics (FLEX), General Growth Properties (GGP), Jacobs Engineering (JEC), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Murphy Oil (MUR), Qiagen (QGEN), Qualcomm (QCOM), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and Swift Transportation (SWFT) are among the major companies scheduled to release their financial results after the close of trading.
The Asian markets ended on a mixed note, as traders digested the lackluster lead from Wall Street overnight and fairly robust U.S. earnings released yesterday after the market close. The Australian, Hong Kong, Japanese, New Zealand and South Korean markets rose, while the rest of the markets ended on a lackluster note.
The Japanese market recovered after a weak start and lackluster performance in the morning to end higher, as the yen pulled back. The Nikkei 225 average ended up 27.43 points or 0.15 percent at 17,796. After languishing below the unchanged line for much of the session, Australia's All Ordinaries recovered in late trading, ending up 5.10 points or 0.09 percent at 5,517. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended at 24,862, up 54.53 points or 0.22 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 47.22 points or 1.41 percent before closing at 3,306.
On the economic front, weighed down by falling oil prices, inflation in Australia cooled off notably in the fourth quarter, according to separate report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Reserve Bank of Australia. The statistical agency's data showed that inflation was down to 0.2 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter from 0.5 percent in the third quarter. The annual inflation rate also slipped to 1.7 percent from 2.3 percent, below the 1.8 percent increase expected by economists. The central bank's trimmed mean annual inflation, a measure of underlying inflation, slowed to 2.2 percent from 2.5 percent.
After opening higher, European stocks gave back their gains as concerns over Greece continue to affect investor sentiment. In corporate news, Roche reported full year profits that trailed estimates by most analysts. Software AG also reported disappointing operating profit and issued a downbeat guidance. At the same time, retailer H&M reported better than expected results for its fourth quarter. Swedish white goods giant Electrolux also reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings. STMicroelectronics reversed to a profit in its fourth quarter and also said it expects to return to revenue growth in 2015.
On the economic front, a forward-looking consumer confidence index for Germany rose to a 13-year high in February, according to the results of a survey by the GfK Institute. The index is set to rise to 9.3 in February from 9 in January, while economists had expected a more modest increase to 9.1.
French consumer confidence remained stable in January, defying expectations for a rise, data from statistical office INSEE showed. The headline index stood at 90 in the month, the same as in December.
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