Wall Street is expected to have a volatile, but positive open on Wednesday, with stock futures tilting higher after a mixed bag of manufacturing data from China and the euro zone.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23 points, or
0.1%, to 16,252, while those for the S&P 500 index climbed 1.65
points, or 0.1%, to 1,933.75.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index added
8.75 points, or 0.2%, to 4,275 points.
Futures for all three benchmarks earlier in the morning were wrapped
in red after the latest Chinese factory gauge underscored concerns about
slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy.
The preliminary Caixin China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, fell to the lowest level since the financial crisis and missed analyst forecasts. Stocks ended mostly lower in Asia after the numbers, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 2.2%.
Sentiment recovered after PMIs for the eurozone missed forecasts,
but still indicated the region is on a solid track to recovery. European
stock markets rose sharply. Germany's DAX was last higher 0.98%, while France's CAC 40 added 0.96%. London's FTSE 100 was higher 1.29%.
It was "good old-fashioned overnight panic and then suddenly people don’t care anymore and are much calmer,” said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG.
“It really repeats the pattern we’ve seen over the past months. Everything seem to be locked in a delicate balance of buyers and sellers, even more than usual. And every dip has been furiously bought, but every rally has been sold. You really get the sense that both sides are locked in a stalemate,” he added.
