What you need to know before the US open
It looks like US stocks are set to open slightly up today, but with just new home sales figures for January out, it’s not an overly illuminating day for investors looking for more information on the health of the economy.
Like a lot of data we've seen over the last few weeks, home sales will likely have been hit by the cold weather, and analysts are expecting a slight fall.
Over here, European markets have meandered lower so far in trading, with banks remaining at the top of the FTSE Eurofirst 300’s biggest fallers.
Natural gas continues to fare badly on markets, down 18.5 per cent in two sessions.
Corporate news
Solar panel maker First solar shed 14 per cent in premarket trading, after it reported a 58 per cent fall in net income in the fourth quarter.
Following Home Depot yesterday, home improvement store Lowe’s Cos gained 7.9 per cent in premarket trading having reported earnings and sales growth, along with a share buyback programme of $5bn.
US bookseller Barnes & Noble turned to profit in the third quarter, reporting $63.2m. The company made a loss a year earlier as it continued to trim its Nook e-reader unit.
And retailer J. Crew is eying an IPO for later this year, according to Bloomberg. Shares have rallied in premarket trading.
In Asia
The yuan continued to do badly against the dollar in Wednesday trading, and the Nikkei fell from its four-week high.
Data in focus
• 3.00pm: US Jan new home sales