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The Fed is scheduled to release the minutes from
its late April meeting at 2:00 p.m. (1400 ET), when the central
bank looked past a dismal reading on first-quarter U.S. growth
and gave a mostly upbeat assessment of the economy's prospects
as it announced another cut in its massive bond-buying stimulus.
New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on
Tuesday inflation should "drift upwards" towards the Fed's 2
percent goal, but a swift climb in inflation was unlikely;
Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said the $2.5
trillion in reserves accumulated by banks could be the trigger
for more rapid inflation.
All 10 primary S&P 500 sector indexes fell on Tuesday and nearly
three-quarters of Nasdaq-listed names declined, led by losses in
the retail sector after disappointing results from Staples and
TJX Companies.
Lowe's Companies <LOW.N> rose 1.1 percent to $46 in light
premarket trade after the world's second-largest home
improvement chain said sales picked up in May and it would
maintain its full-year sales growth forecast, even as it
reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
S&P 500 e-mini futures rose 3.75 points and were above fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average e-mini futures gained 35
points and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures added 8 points.
Tiffany & Co <TIF.N> jumped 6 percent to $93.50 before the
opening bell after the jewelry retailer reported a 13 percent
rise in quarterly sales.
Other S&P 500 companies expected to report Wednesday include
Target Corp <TGT.N> and Hewlett-Packard <HPQ.N>.
With earnings season almost wrapped up, Thomson Reuters data
showed that of 470 companies in the S&P 500 that reported
through Tuesday morning, 68.3 percent topped expectations, above
the 63 percent average since 1994 and a 66 percent beat rate for
the past four quarters.
European shares fell, dropping further from last week's 2014
highs, weighed by BNP Paribas on reports U.S. authorities were
seeking to fine the bank. <.EU>
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> slipped 0.1 percent in the wake of the fall in
U.S. stocks, as Asian investors continued to keep a wary eye on
escalating tensions in Thailand.
(Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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