U.S. index futures started Wednesday with a slight decline in pre-market trading, with an air of anticipation due to the imminent results from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices reached record highs the previous day.

At 6:29 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) fell 47 points, or 0.12%. S&P 500 futures declined by 0.13%, and Nasdaq-100 futures lost 0.09%. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.441%.

In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude for July dropped 1.18%, to $77.73 per barrel. Brent crude for July fell 1.13%, near $81.94 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian exchange rose 2.7%, to $127.22 per metric ton.

On Wednesday’s economic agenda, the U.S. Department of Commerce will release April’s existing home sales data at 10 AM. Subsequently, at 10:30 AM, the Department of Energy (DoE) will present last week’s oil stock positions.

European markets are operating lower, influenced by UK inflation, which hit 2.3% in April, surpassing the forecast of 2.1%. This data lowered expectations of interest rate cuts by the Bank of England in the summer, with the probability of a June cut dropping to 13%.

Asia-Pacific markets showed mixed performance. China’s Shanghai index rose 0.02%, defying the general downtrend seen in other markets. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed down 0.85%, despite a slight increase in business sentiment as shown by the non-industrial Reuters Tankan index, which reached +26. Additionally, Japan demonstrated a 2.7% increase in machinery orders compared to the previous year, above expectations, and a significant rise in exports, though the country registered a larger-than-expected trade deficit.

In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 0.03%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2% at the close. Australia had a stable close with the S&P/ASX 200, and in New Zealand, the S&P/NZ50 rose 0.14% after the Central Bank kept the monetary rate unchanged at 5.5%, justifying the measure as necessary to control inflation.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached new records after closing up 0.22% and 0.25%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones rose 0.17% to 39,872.99 points. Volatility prevailed as investors reassessed the market’s strength. The expectation of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve boosted gains despite uncertainty from divergent comments. Individual stocks, like Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON) and AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), showed significant movements, while tobacco and banks performed positively.

Quarterly reports are scheduled before the market opens from Target (NYSE:TGT), Pinduoduo (NASDAQ:PDD), TJX (NYSE:TJX), Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM), Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI), Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG), Arbe Robotics (NASDAQ:ARBE), Golden Ocean (NASDAQ:GOGL), and Walkme (NASDAQ:WKME), among others.

After the close, investors await numbers from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW), Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS), VF Corp (NYSE:VFC), Elf Beauty (NYSE:ELF), Agora Inc. (NASDAQ:API), Grupo Supervielle (NYSE:SUPV), LiveRamp Holdings (NYSE:RAMP), Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK), and more.

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