US futures rise, point to slightly higher open

• Dow futures dipped 3 points but indicated a positive open of more than 30 points.
• Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both marginally higher.
• Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments after President Donald Trump said negotiators were close to reaching an initial trade deal.

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Wednesday morning.

At around 03:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures dipped 3 points but indicated a positive open of more than 30 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both marginally higher.

Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments after President Donald Trump said negotiators were close to reaching an initial trade deal.

Trump’s upbeat comments on trade followed a phone call between officials from the U.S. and China on Tuesday. The negotiators agreed to keep working on remaining issues.

The positive market sentiment helped to push major averages on Wall Street to record highs in the previous session.

Washington and Beijing have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of one another’s goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment.

Beige Book, earnings On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims will be released at around 8:30 a.m. Durable goods for October and a second reading of real third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will be published at the same time.

Chicago PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) for November, personal income and pending home sales for October will follow slightly later in the session.

The Federal Reserve’s Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions, also known as the Beige Book, will be released at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The commentary is an important indicator of the state of the world’s largest economy and a look into how the Fed views its monetary policy stance.

In corporate news, Deere and DouYu will both publish earnings on Wednesday.