WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Early indications suggest that Wall Street's optimism has faded and nervousness has returned ahead of the release of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for June, which is expected to show a healthy pace of job growth. The dollar is mostly higher, although the euro is seeing some bounce amid hopes that a Grexit may not materialize. Commodities are mostly lower but crude oil futures are rebounding from the previous day's steep decline. The European equity markets are rising sharply while Asian stocks closed mostly higher earlier in the global trading day. The domestic markets may stay focused on the non-farm payrolls report, which is being pushed forward due to the observance of Independence Day on Friday.
At 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are rising 18 points, while the S&P 500 futures are advancing 2 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are gaining 7.50 points.
U.S. stocks hovered in positive throughout Wednesday's session, although they closed off the highs, amid the release of positive domestic data and signals that Greece may be embracing the bailout proposals put forward by its international creditors.
On the economic front, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its non-farm payrolls report for June at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect payrolls to have expanded by 230,000 in June, while the jobless rate is expected to edge down to 5.4 percent.
Around the same time, the Labor Department is due to release its jobless claims report for the week ended June 27th. The consensus estimate calls for a decline in jobless claims to 270,000 from 271,000 in the previous week.
The Commerce Department is set to release its factory orders report for May at 10 am ET. Economists expect factory orders to have declined by 0.3 percent month-over-month following a 0.4 percent drop in April. The Treasury is set to make announcements concerning the Treasury auctions of 3-year and 10-year notes and 30-year bonds at 11 am ET.
In corporate news, Family Dollar (FDO), which has agreed to be acquired by Dollar Tree (DLTR), reported third quarter-adjusted earnings that missed estimates, while its revenues were in line.
PayPal, which is in the process of being separated from eBay (EBAY) on July 17th, 2015, subsidiary has agreed to buy Xoom (XOOM), a company specializing in international remittances, for $25 per share in cash or for an enterprise value of $890 million.
Integra LifeSciences (IART) announced that it has completed the previously announced tax-free spin-off of its orthobiologics and spinal fusion hardware business, which will now be known as SeaSpine Holdings (SPNE). SeaSpine will begin trading on the Nasdaq on July 2nd.
Accenture (ACN) announced an agreement to sell its Navitaire subsidiary to Amadeus for $830 million. In a separate agreement Accenture also agreed to provide Amadeus with infrastructure outsourcing, application and R&D services.
The major Asian markets rose for the third straight session, as traders digested developments on the Greek debt front. The Chinese market extended the sell-off, with the Shanghai Composite Index sliding over 3 percent.
The Japanese market advanced strongly, as the yen retreated amid the prevalence of risk appetite. The Nikkei 225 average ended up 193.18 points or 0.95 percent at 20,523 Australia's All Ordinaries rose steadily throughout the session, ending up 81.90 points or 1.49 percent at 5,588. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 32.29 points or 0.12 percent higher at 26,282, while China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 140.93 points or 3.48 percent before closing at 3,913.
On the economic front, a report released by the Bank of Japan showed that monetary base rose 34.2 percent year-over-year in June following a 35.6 percent increase in May. On an adjusted basis, monetary base climbed 17 percent.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the trade deficit for Australia widened to A$2.751 billion in May from A$1.36 billion in April. Economists expected a deficit of A$2.225 billion. Exports rose 1 percent month-over-month, while imports fell 4 percent.
European stocks are surging higher after seeing some volatility in early trading as the Greek crisis plays out. Greek officials are clamoring for a 'No' vote in the referendum even as Eurozone leaders hope that the Greeks approve the bailout proposals put forward by Greece's international creditors.
In corporate news, Ryanair reported a 5 percent point year-over-year increase in load factor to 93 percent in June. Traffic rose 14 percent.
On the economic front, a report released by the U.K. Nationwide Building Society showed that U.K. house prices eased 0.2 percent month-over-month in June, belying expectations for a 0.5 percent increase. This marked the first decline in four months. The annual increase in house prices slowed to 3.3 percent from 4.6 percent.
The Swedish central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate to -0.35 percent from -0.25 percent. The Riskbank also extended its government bond purchase programme by a further 45 billion Swedish Krona with effect from September and until the end of the year.
The results of a survey by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply showed that construction sector activity accelerated in June. The corresponding PMI rose to 58.1 in June from 55.9 in May, while economists expected a reading of 56.5.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX