The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Wednesday following the strong upward move seen in the previous session.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets after yesterday's advance lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to record closing highs.
A mixed batch of earnings news from big-name companies such as Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT) and AT&T (T) may also contribute to choppy trading on Wall Street.
Shares of Boeing are moving higher in pre-market trading after the aerospace giant reported first quarter earnings that matched analyst estimates but pulled its full-year guidance due to uncertainty surrounding the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft.
Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines but is moving lower in pre-market trading.
Shares of AT&T are also seeing pre-market weakness after the telecom giant reported first quarter earnings that met estimates but weaker than expected revenues.
A light day on the U.S. economic front may also keep traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of reports on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders and first quarter GDP in the coming days.
Following the lackluster performance on Monday, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. With the upward move on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the session at record closing highs.
The major averages all ended the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 145.34 points or 0.6 percent to 26,656.39, the Nasdaq surged up 105.56 points or 1.3 percent to 8,120.82 and the S&P 500 jumped 25.71 points or 0.9 percent to 2,933.68.
The strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from a number of big-name companies, including Dow components United Technologies (UTX) and Coca-Cola (KO).
United Technologies and Coca-Cola both moved notably higher on the day after reporting better than expected first quarter results.
Shares of Twitter (TWTR) also saw significant strength after the social media giant reported better than expected first quarter earnings, revenue, and user growth.
Toy maker Hasbro (HAS) also moved sharply higher after unexpectedly turning a profit in the first quarter on better than expected revenues.
Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble (PG) and Verizon (VZ) both moved to the downside despite reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
Positive sentiment was also generated by a Commerce Department report showing new home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly jumped to their highest level in well over a year in the month of March.
The Commerce Department said new home sales surged up by 4.5 percent to an annual rate of 692,000 in March after soaring by 5.9 percent to a revised rate of 662,000 in February.
The continued increase surprised economists, who had expected new home sales to drop by 2.5 percent to a rate of 650,000 from the 667,000 originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected spike, new home sales reached their highest annual rate since hitting 712,000 in November of 2017.
Biotechnology stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 2.7 percent.
Bargain hunting contributed the strength in the biotech sector after the index ended Monday's trading at its lowest closing level in well over three months.
Significant strength also emerged among healthcare stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent jump by the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index.
Software, retail and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable strength on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest on Wall Street.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are edging down $0.04 to $66.26 a barrel after climbing $0.75 to $66.30 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, after sliding $4.40 to $1,273.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $0.40 to $1,272.80 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 111.81 yen compared to the 111.86 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1206 compared to yesterday's $1.1227.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors digested upbeat corporate results from the U.S. and looked forward to further progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
According to U.S. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will head to Beijing next week for talks that start on April 30.
Following those talks, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will lead a delegation to Washington for further discussions that begin on May 8.
Chinese shares ended slightly higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closing up 3.02 points or 0.1 percent at 3,201.61 after the country's central bank extended 267.4 billion yuan ($39.8 billion) to some commercial banks to support liquidity in the banking system. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended down 157.41 points or 0.5 percent at 29,805.83.
Japanese shares ended a choppy session lower as investors braced for a flurry of earnings reports due out on Friday and the 10-day Golden Week holiday starting this weekend.
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 59.74 points or 0.3 percent to 22,200.00, while the broader Topix closed 0.7 percent lower at 1,612.05.
Nissan Motor tumbled 4 percent. After the markets closed, the automaker lowered its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March amid slowing sales and the fallout from the criminal investigation of its former chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Utilities fell on profit taking, with Tokyo Electric Power losing 4.1 percent and Osaka Gas declining 2.7 percent.
Australian markets hit an 11-year high after inflation slowed sharply last quarter to the lowest in three years, building the case for a rate cut this year.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 62.70 points or 1 percent to 6,382.10, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 59.50 points or 0.9 percent at 6,470.60.
The big four banks rose between 1 percent and 1.6 percent ahead of earnings due next week. Export-reliant CSL rallied 2.4 percent and Cochlear added 2.3 percent as the Aussie dollar tumbled to a six-week low.
In the tech space, Computershare, Afterpay Touch Group, WiseTech Global and Altium jumped 2-5 percent.
Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto declined 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively after a fall in copper prices. Smaller rival Fortescue Metals lost 1.8 percent.
Seoul stocks fell sharply to snap a three-day winning streak as technology stocks succumbed to heavy selling pressure amid earnings concerns.
The benchmark Kospi dropped 19.48 points or 0.9 percent to 2,201.03, while the South Korean won plummeted to the lowest level against the U.S. dollar in almost 19 months.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 1 percent and chipmaker SK Hynix lost 3.1 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display plummeted 6.4 percent after reporting a wider first quarter operating loss.
Europe
European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Wednesday as investors digest weak regional data as well as upbeat earnings news from the likes of Credit Suisse, Novartis and SAP.
While the German DAX Index has advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent.
STMicroelectronics NV has moved notably higher after the company forecast 2.4 percent sequential net revenue growth in 2019.
Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse Group has also jumped after reporting an 8 percent rise in first quarter net profit, beating forecasts.
Volvo Group has also moved sharply higher. The multinational manufacturing company reported that its net income for the first quarter climbed to 10.62 billion Swedish kronor from last year's 5.65 billion kronor.
Swiss drug giant Novartis and German software company SAP have also surged higher after raising their full-year profit outlooks.
On the other hand, Stockholm-listed online gambling operator Kindred Group has slumped after Swedish market costs contributed to a 50 percent decline in profit after tax.
Akzo Nobel has also moved to the downside. The Dutch paints and chemicals maker reported that its first quarter net income attributable to shareholders plunged to 65 million euros from last year's 253 million euros.
In economic news, German business confidence unexpectedly weakened in April to its lowest level in three years, survey data from the Ifo Institute showed.
The Ifo business climate indicator dropped to 99.2 from an upwardly revised 99.7 in March. Economists had expected the index to climb to 99.9 from March's original 99.6.
Separately, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed French manufacturing confidence deteriorated for the first time in five months in April to its lowest level in over two-and-a-half years.
The manufacturing confidence index fell to 101 from a revised 103 in March.
U.S. Economic Reports
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended April 19th at 10:30 am ET.
Crude oil inventories are expected to dip by 0.2 million barrels after falling by 1.4 million barrels in the previous week.
At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of its auction of $41 billion worth of five-year notes.
Stocks In Focus
Shares of Anadarko Petroleum (APC) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after Occidental Petroleum (OXY) offered to acquire the oil and gas driller for $76 per share in cash and stock, claiming the bid represents a 20 percent premium to a previous offer from Chevron (CVX).
eCommerce giant eBay (EBAY) is also likely to see initial strength after reporting first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, shares of iRobot (IRBT) are likely to come under pressure after the maker of robot vacuum Roomba reported better than expected first quarter earnings but revenues that missed expectations.
Medical device maker Boston Scientific (BSX) may also move to the downside after reporting first quarter results below analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
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