Stocks May Show A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks may experience choppy trading early on Wednesday after ending the previous session modestly higher. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by just 2 points.

Traders may remain reluctant to make significant moves ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the week.

Yellen is due to speak at the Kansas City Fed's monetary policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, and traders are likely to look for clues about the outlook for interest rates in her remarks.

Not long after the open, trading could be impacted by reaction to the National Association of Realtor's report on existing home sales in the month of July.

Existing home sales are expected to drop to a rate of 5.520 million in July after climbing to a rate of 5.570 million in June.

Among individual stocks, shares of Insys Therapeutics (INSY) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the pharmaceutical company said the Phase 3 trial for its Buprenorphine Sublingual Spray met its primary endpoint.

OraSure Technologies (OSUR) may also see early strength after receiving a $16.6 million government contract to advance its rapid Zika tests.

Meanwhile, shares of Intuit (INTU) may come under pressure after the financial software developer reported better than expected fourth quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.

Garmin (GRMN) could also move to the downside after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on the navigational technology and wearables makers to Sell from Neutral.

After moving notably higher in early trading on Tuesday, stocks gave back some ground but managed to end the day modestly higher.

The major averages ended the day in positive territory. The Dow inched up by 17.88 points or 0.1 percent to 18,547.30, the Nasdaq rose 15.47 points or 0.3 percent to 5,260.08 and the S&P 500 edged up by 4.26 points or 0.2 percent to 2,186.90.

In overseas trading, stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped by 0.8 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has edged down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.90 to $47.20 a barrel after climbing $0.69 to $48.10 a barrel in the previous session. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is currently trading at $1,335.50, down $10.60 from the previous session's close of $1,346.10. On Tuesday, gold rose $2.70. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 100.27 yen compared to the 100.24 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1261 compared to yesterday's $1.1305.