US pre-open: Stocks to nudge lower ahead of Draghi, Yellen speeches
US stocks looked set for a slightly softer open on Wednesday as investors take a breather following a record run and look to some key services and jobs data.
At 1235 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all down 0.1%.
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "After kicking off the week with two record closes, US indices are currently seen opening marginally lower as we prepare for speeches from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and ECB President Mario Draghi.
"While the two central banks are in very different phases of the tightening cycle, both heads are facing very similar problems in that there is a strong desire within the banks to become less accommodative before the end of the year but the data is making life difficult. Inflation in particular is a massive headache for many central banks around the world, with the normal models proving ineffective in determining when it will return to target."
Draghi is due to speak at 1815 BST, while Yellen will speak at 2015 BST.
On the data front, the ADP employment report is at 1315 BST, while Markit's services PMI is at 1445 BST and the ISM non-manufacturing survey is at 1500 BST.
Erlam said: "The ADP employment report is always followed closely, with it intending to be an estimate of Friday’s NFP number. This may be the case more so this month, with its reputation but not being entirely reliable possibly being set aside as traders look for any insight into what impact the hurricanes had on hiring last month. Fewer than 100,000 jobs are expected to have been created last month but the reality could be very different and today’s ADP may offer some insight on this."
In corporate news, electric car maker Tesla rose in pre-market trade after Nomura initiated coverage of the stock at 'buy'.
Office Depot was likely to be in focus after saying late on Tuesday that it was cutting its 2017 profit guidance and announcing the acquisition of CompuCom for $1bn.
Amazon.com was also likely to be in the spotlight as the EU antitrust regulator ordered the company to repay $293m in back taxes after saying it had been given an unfair tax advantage.
Verizon Communications nudged a touch lower in pre-market trade after announcing late on Tuesday that every Yahoo account was hit in a 2013 hack.
PepsiCo shares were set to be active after its third-quarter earnings before the open beat analysts' expectations, while Mylan surged in pre-market trade after it got approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a drug for multiple sclerosis.