Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, as speculation over whether the Federal Reserve will begin to scale back its asset purchase program later this year continued to dominate market sentiment.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.55% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.61% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.50% rise.
Speculation that the U.S. central bank will begin to taper its asset purchase program continued following last week’s upbeat U.S. jobs data and after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s revised its long-term outlook on the U.S. credit rating to stable from negative on Monday, citing an improving economic outlook.
Pharmaceutical companies were likely to be in focus, after GlaxoSmithKline dismissed its head of research and development in China, following an investigation that determined data used in a 2010 research paper was misrepresented.
Also in company news, Borealis Infrastructure Management and its Kuwaiti-British partners abandoned their USD8.3 billion bid for the U.K. water utility Severn Trent as the offer deadline expired.
Google and Facebook were also expected to be active, as they are among a group of companies asking the U.S. government for more leeway in disclosing information about national-security data requests, in a move to reassure customers that authorities don’t have unlimited access to users’ personal details.
Other stocks in focus included PVH and H&R Block, expected to post first quarter results before the start of the U.S. trading session.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.48%, Germany's DAX edged up 0.11%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.15%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.20%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.46%.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.55% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.61% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.50% rise.
Speculation that the U.S. central bank will begin to taper its asset purchase program continued following last week’s upbeat U.S. jobs data and after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s revised its long-term outlook on the U.S. credit rating to stable from negative on Monday, citing an improving economic outlook.
Pharmaceutical companies were likely to be in focus, after GlaxoSmithKline dismissed its head of research and development in China, following an investigation that determined data used in a 2010 research paper was misrepresented.
Also in company news, Borealis Infrastructure Management and its Kuwaiti-British partners abandoned their USD8.3 billion bid for the U.K. water utility Severn Trent as the offer deadline expired.
Google and Facebook were also expected to be active, as they are among a group of companies asking the U.S. government for more leeway in disclosing information about national-security data requests, in a move to reassure customers that authorities don’t have unlimited access to users’ personal details.
Other stocks in focus included PVH and H&R Block, expected to post first quarter results before the start of the U.S. trading session.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.48%, Germany's DAX edged up 0.11%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.15%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.20%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.46%.