WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. shares look set to open notably lower on Wednesday, tracking declines across Europe and Asia. Investor confidence in riskier assets has dipped somewhat, as oil prices fell further by more than one percent on concerns about a global supply glut, and Apple Inc. posted its third successive quarter of declining iPhone sales.
Yuan worries receded to a certain extent as China's central bank fixed the yuan's daily midpoint at a stronger level for the first time in four days. The dollar retreated from near nine-month high, giving emerging market currencies some reprieve.
Apple stock fell in after-hours trading Tuesday after a mixed earnings report. Its earnings per share beat expectations while revenue came in line with estimates on lower sales of its flagship iPhones.
Chipotle shares also fell in extended trading after its sales declined sharply for the fourth straight quarter.
Meanwhile, Twitter shares rose after reports that Walt Disney is once again interested in buying the struggling social network.
Boeing, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Hilton Hotels, Southwest Air, Tesla Motors, Buffalo wild Wings and Cheesecake Factory are among the prominent companies due to unveil their earnings cards later in the day.
Biopharmaceutical company OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced positive survival results from the Phase 2 Borealis-2 trial of apatorsen in Metastatic Bladder Cancer.
Brown & Brown, Inc. announced that it has received a temporary injunction against certain former employees of Brown & Brown and their new employer, AssuredPartners, Inc.
MoneyGram launched a new cross border money transfer product for Walmart customers sending from any U.S. Walmart location to any Walmart Mexico location.
Google parent Alphabet announced that it would suspend plans to expand its fiber networks business and lay off 9 percent of the division's staff amid mounting costs and missed subscriber goals.
Elsewhere, most Asian stocks fell as oil prices retreated and a big rise in Australian inflation weakened the case for a surprise November rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The major European averages are currently down about 1 percent as investors digest a slew of mixed earnings reports.
German consumer sentiment lost some steam heading into November because of the 'increasingly difficult' external trade environment and the perceived rising risk of terrorism in Germany, a monthly report from market research firm GfK showed today. On the other hand, a gauge of French consumer confidence improved as expected in October.
U.S. advance goods trade balance figures for September, wholesale inventories numbers for September, Markit's U.S. flash PMI report for October, U.S. home sales data for September and U.S. crude oil inventories data are set to be published in the New York session.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday in reaction to disappointing earnings reports from the likes of 3M and Caterpillar, weaker oil prices and sluggish consumer confidence data. The Dow dropped 0.3 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid half a percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.4 percent.
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