Wall Street Targets Moderately Higher Open

(RTTNews) - Geopolitical challenges, particularly Russia's heavy strikes on Ukraine and the ongoing Gaza situation, might be influencing investor sentiment on Wednesday. President Trump criticized Russian Premier Putin over the Ukraine attacks, which involved hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles. Meanwhile, Trump's expanding tariff policies continue to irk nations, now covering sectors like semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and metals.

In the Asian trading session, gold declined below $3,300 per ounce.

Asian shares finished mostly down, while European shares are trading broadly higher.

Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open moderately up.

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 124.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 14.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were adding 46.75 points.

The U.S. major averages finished broadly lower on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 5.95 points to 20,418.46, the S&P 500 edged down 4.46 points or 0.1 percent to 6,225.52 and the Dow fell 165.60 points or 0.4 percent to 44,240.76.

On the economic front, the Energy Information Administration or EIA's Petroleum Status Report for the week will be released at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the crude oil inventories were up 3.8 million barrels and the gasoline inventories were up 4.2 million barrels.

Four-month Treasury Bill auction will be held at 11.30 am ET.

Ten-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

The Federal Open Market Committee or FOMC minutes will be issued at 2.00 pm ET.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday. China's Shanghai Composite index was down 0.13 percent to finish at 3,493.05. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.06 percent to 23,892.32.

Japanese markets ended modestly higher. The Nikkei average rose 0.33 percent to 39,821.28 while the broader Topix index ended up 0.41 percent at 2,828.16.

Australian markets ended lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.61 percent to 8,538.60. The broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.58 percent lower at 8,777.90.

European shares are trading mostly higher. CAC 40 of France is adding 99.48 points or 1.28 percent. DAX of Germany is gaining 288.03 points or 1.19 percent. FTSE 100 of England is adding 18.58 points or 0.21 percent. The Swiss Market Index is progressing 59.21 points or 0.49 percent.

Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 1.12 percent.