Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday, March 13:
1. Another British Parliament Brexit Vote
Britain's parliament will vote on whether to leave the European Union in 16 days without an agreement as the government said it would eliminate import tariffs on a wide range of goods in a no-deal Brexit scenario.
The vote is set to take place at around 3:00PM ET (19:00 GMT).
If, as expected, Parliament rejects leaving without an accord on March 29, there will be another vote Thursday on whether to ask the EU for more time and delay departure day.
British lawmakers handed Prime Minister Theresa May a second humiliating defeat for her Brexit plan on Tuesday, plunging the country deeper into political crisis.
A spokesman for European Council President Donald Tusk, representing EU governments, said Britain would have to provide a "credible justification" for any request for a delay.
The pound was up 0.6% at $1.3148 by 5:50AM ET (09:50 GMT).
Read more: As Brexit Enters Endgame, Financial Authorities Ready Contingencies: Darrell Delamaide
2. U.S. PPI, Durable Goods Data Up Next
The Commerce Department will release data on January durable goods orders at 8:30AM ET (12:30 GMT).
The consensus forecast is that the report will show orders for durable goods fell by 0.7% last month. Core orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, are forecast to rise 0.2%.
Today's calendar will also bring investors the latest report on producer prices, which is expected to show an increase of 1.9% on the year in February.
Construction spending figures are also on the agenda.
Tame consumer price inflation data on Tuesday underlined the case for the Federal Reserve to keep its current wait-and-see stance on interest rate hikes.
3. Wall Street Set for Subdued Open
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open, as investors looked ahead to the latest batch of economic reports to gauge the health of the economy.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 6 points, or about 0.1%, the S&P 500 futures added 2 points, while the blue-chip Dow futures were down 2 points.
The moves in premarket come after U.S. stocks closed mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow ending lower as Boeing (NYSE:BA)'s shares sank for a second day amid worries over the safety of one of its most popular airplanes.
Elsewhere, European stocks hovered around the flatline, as uncertainty prevailed on Britain's plan to leave the EU.
Earlier, markets in Asia drifted lower as a risk-off mood settled on markets. Japan's Nikkei led the retreat with a fall of 1% as data showed domestic machinery orders fell in January at the fastest pace in four months.
4. Treasury Yields Fall Towards 2019 Lows
In the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields hovered near their lowest levels of the year, as weak inflation data reinforced expectations the Fed will stay patient on rates and could even sound more dovish at its policy meeting next week.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year note were at 2.61%, after going as low as 2.60% a day earlier, the lowest since Jan. 4.
The yield on U.S. government bonds with 2-year maturities stood at 2.46%, while the 30-year bond yield was at 3.00%.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies held steady at 96.86.
5. EIA Oil Supply Report
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its official weekly oil supplies report for the week ended March 8 at 10:30AM ET (14:30 GMT).
Analysts expect the EIA to report a gain of around 2.7 million barrels in crude inventories, although the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. crude stocks actually fell by 2.6 million barrels last week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 53 cents, or around 0.9%, testing two-week highs at $57.40 a barrel.
International Brent crude oil futures were at $67.05 per barrel, up 36 cents, or roughly 0.5%.
Oil prices were generally supported by ongoing supply cuts from OPEC and its allies, and by another drop in Venezuelan production due to the country's protracted blackout. Also Wednesday, reports suggested that Russia is gradually moving towards full implementation of the agreed supply cuts, pumping 11.307 million barrels a day as of mid-March.
-- Reuters contributed to this report