U.S. stock futures were mixed and relatively flat Wednesday morning, following two days of losses on Wall Street on concerns about the economy. Investors will look to FedEx (NYSE: FDX) results as the shipping company is often said to keep the pulse of the economy. More inflation data is due today as well.Wall Street also awaits to hear President Obama's plan to overhaul and modernize financial regulation. Obama aims to strengthen the government's authority over financial institutions, hoping a crisis such as the recent one can be averted in the future with proper regulation. Among the recommendations are new powers for the Federal Reserve; a new consumer protection agency to govern lending and credit; and new rules that would reach into currently unregulated regions of the financial markets.
Overseas, world markets were mostly down Wednesday as many worried stocks' runup since March -- with some indexes up more than 50 percent since -- isn't justified by the current pace of economic recovery, particularly in the U.S.
There were more green shoots coming from around the world: U.K. unemployment rose less than economists forecast in May and the Bank of England said the risk of a deeper slump has receded, the latest evidence to indicate the economy is past the worst. Also, China's government said the economy is in a "critical" phase as it starts to recover from the worst slump in almost a decade, and pledged to keep spending to sustain growth.
Meanwhile, oil prices hovered above $70 a barrel Wednesday as investors on the same concerns after this week have come off eight-month highs near $73 a barrel. At 10:30 AM this morning, weekly crude inventory data is due out and may sway prices one way or another.
But before the bell, at 8:30 AM, consumer price index for May and current account balance for the first quarter are set to be released. The inflation gauge is not expected to show any pricing pressure with economists predicting a 0.3 percent rise in CPI, despite surging gasoline prices. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, is expected to rise 0.1%.
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