US benchmark equity indexes were tracking in the red in Wednesday's premarket activity as investors await minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting. The Standard & Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a minor drop of 0.1% before the opening bell, while the Nasdaq recorded a slight decline of 0.2%.
Meanwhile, Asian exchanges showed mixed results, trending lower, and European bourses also indicated a downturn by midday on the continent. The Federal Reserve is set to release the minutes from its December policy session at 2 pm ET, which will likely be scrutinized for insights into the central bank's overall policy stance and direction.
Investors are particularly keen on understanding any shifts in strategy that could influence future market movements. In addition to the Fed minutes, Wednesday's economic calendar is packed with key reports. At 7 am, the weekly mortgage applications bulletin will be released, followed closely by the ADP Employment Report for December at 8:15 am.
The weekly jobless claims report is expected at 8:30 am, providing crucial insights into the labor market, while the preliminary wholesale inventories report for November will be published at 10 am. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is also scheduled to release reports on the domestic petroleum inventories and natural gas supplies at 10:30 am and 12 pm, respectively.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve’s consumer credit bulletin for November is due at 3 pm, adding more data for market participants to analyze. In a somber note, US markets will be closed on Thursday to observe the mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter, with operations resuming on Friday. Several companies are slated to report their financial results prior to the market opening, including Albertsons, Acuity Brands, MSC Industrial Direct, Simply Good Foods, Unifirst, and Helen of Troy.
In the afternoon, after the market closes, Jefferies Financial Group and Greenbrier will post their earnings results. In the pre-market session, shares of Moderna saw an increase of 1.6%, demonstrating resilience in the biotech sector. In contrast, Palantir Technologies faced a decline of 2.2%, highlighting the volatility faced by tech stocks in current market conditions. From a commodities perspective, bitcoin experienced a drop of 1.3%, trading at approximately $95,103.
In contrast, West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 0.6%, priced at $74.66 per barrel. Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose by 1.4 basis points to reach 4.7%, indicating slight upward pressure on borrowing costs, while gold saw a marginal decrease of 0.1%, trading at $2,664 per ounce..