Economic data and the Federal Reserve will take center stage Wednesday for markets looking for reasons to resume their upward march.
U.S. stock futures were roughly level with Tuesday’s closing numbers, though there was a slightly firmer bias in premarket trading.
The market is waiting for the release at 2:00 p.m. ET of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting.
Investors are looking for further evidence that the central bank will continue its stimulus program into 2014, extending the huge bond-buying spree that has supported the U.S. economic recovery and helped boost stock markets to record levels.
On Tuesday evening, chairman Ben Bernanke made a speech that indicated Fed support was likely to continue into 2014.
Markets are also waiting for the monthly Consumer Price Index from the U.S. Labor Department, which is the government’s key measure of inflation. That data will come out at 8:30 a.m. The Census Bureau will publish its monthly report on retail sales at the same time.
At 10:00, the National Association of Realtors will release its monthly report on existing home sales.
On the corporate side, retailers J.C. Penney and Lowe’s are scheduled to report quarterly results before the opening bell, while Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is up in the afternoon.
Shares in JPMorgan Chase were edging slightly lower after the investment bank announced a $13 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over mortgage-backed securities sold ahead of the financial crisis.
Yahoo shares rose in after-hours trading Tuesday following news that the company is boosting its stock buyback by another $5 billion.
U.S. stocks slipped Tuesday, though they are trading just slightly below record levels.
European markets were edging lower in morning trading and Asian markets ended with mixed results. Chinese indexes closed with gains though other key markets moved down.
