Pessimism about the upcoming earnings season has sunk the Dow Jones Industrial Average
However, Dow futures are headed up 0.2% in early morning trading today, with the Federal Open Market Committee Minutes due out at 2 p.m. EDT. Investors are looking for clues into future interest rate adjustments and awaiting the central bank's most recent observations on the economy.
Markets in Asia and Europe were mixed in overnight trading. Foreign investors seem equally fearful of earnings season, as indexes abroad have fallen in recent days as well. OPEC also projected that worldwide oil demand growth would slow in 2013, in part because of the European debt crisis, the struggling U.S. economy, and slowing growth in emerging markets.
Apple
In addition to the Fed minutes due out this afternoon, the market is also waiting on the May wholesale inventories report at 10 a.m. EDT. Analysts expect an increase of 0.3% following April's gain of 0.6%. While this figure generally doesn't affect markets, an unexpected jump could bode well for mega-retailers such as Wal-Mart as a sign that retail spending is increasing. The International Trade report released earlier this morning showed a trade deficit in May of $48.7 billion, in line with expectations of $48.9 billion and an improvement from $50.1 billion in April.
Stay focused
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