Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday, March 6:
1. OECD Cuts Global Growth Forecasts Again
The Organization for Economic Co-Operation & Development (OECD) cut forecasts again for the global economy for this year and next. It singled out trade disputes and uncertainty over Brexit as the main reasons for its pessimism.
The Paris-based organization now sees world GDP growing 3.3% in 2019 and 3.4% in 2020. That represents cuts of 0.2% for 2019 and 0.1% for 2020, compared to its last set of forecasts in November.
"High policy uncertainty, ongoing trade tensions, and a further erosion of business and consumer confidence are all contributing to the slowdown," said the OECD in its report.
"Substantial policy uncertainty remains in Europe, including over Brexit. A disorderly exit would raise the costs for European economies substantially," it added.
2. ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) Payrolls Data
On the data front, the market’s attention will shift to the U.S. labor market with the ADP’s report on private payroll growth, which is often seen as a warmup act for the big Friday government non-farm payrolls report.
Economists expect the ADP report, due at 8:15AM ET (13:15 GMT), to show that private payroll growth totaled 189,000 in February.
A pair of Fed speeches are also on the agenda, with New York Fed President John Williams (NYSE:WMB) and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester speaking at separate events.
The Fed also releases its Beige Book, a collection of economic anecdotes from each of the central bank’s 12 districts, at 2PM ET (19:00 GMT).
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was at 96.85 by 5:40AM ET (10:40 GMT), after going as high as 96.95 the previous day, its highest level since Feb. 15.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasury prices inched higher, pushing yields slightly lower across the curve, with the benchmark 10-year yield falling to 2.71%.
3. EIA's Weekly Oil Supply Report
In commodity markets, the U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its official weekly oil supplies report for the week ended March 1 at 10:30AM ET (15:30 GMT).
Analysts expect the EIA to report a gain of around 1.2 million barrels in crude inventories.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. crude supplies rose by 3.7 million barrels last week. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 1.1 million barrels.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 67 cents, or around 1.2%, at $55.90 a barrel.
International Brent crude oil futures were at $65.50 per barrel, down 36 cents, or roughly 0.6%.
4. U.S. Futures Point to Lower Open
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open, amid renewed concerns about a global economic slowdown.
The blue-chip Dow futures were down 46 points, or about 0.2%, the S&P 500 futures shed 4 points, or around 0.15%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 7 points, or roughly 0.1%.
Elsewhere, European stocks inched lower in mid-morning trade, as weak results from the troubled autos sector dragged the market down.
Earlier, mainland Chinese shares rallied sharply as markets took hope in stimulus measures announced by Beijing on Tuesday.
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5. Last Batch of Retail Earnings
The fourth-quarter earnings season has all but wound down, but results are expected from a number of retailers today.
Teen fashion chain Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE:ANF) is forecast to earn $1.15 a share on revenue of $1.13 billion, according to analysts polled by Investing.com, when it releases results in the morning.
American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) reports after the close, with analysts expected earnings of 42 cents a share. Revenue is forecast at $1.26 billion.
Other notable companies reporting results today include BJ's Wholesale (NYSE:BJ), discount store operator Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR), and Fashion retailer Chico's (NYSE:CHS).
-- Reuters contributed to this report