Wall Street Futures Edge Higher as Commodity Rally Drives Global

New York (Dec 27)  Wall Street is likely to open mixed Wednesday, with investors focused on both a sharp rally in global commodities and the ongoing impact of recent U.S. tax cuts as markets head towards the close of one of the most extraordinary rallies in a generation.

Early indications from U.S. equity futures suggest a modestly stronger open for domestic stocks, with contracts tied to the S&P 500 were seen 2.5 points, or 0.06% higher from their Tuesday close while those tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were marked 11 points, or 0.07% higher to the upside.

Investors are looking at a light economic calendar of events over the day's session, with pending homes sales data for the month of November and key reading of U.S. consumer confidence both due at 10:00 am eastern.

Apple Inc. (AAPL - Get Report) looks set to rebound modestly from one of its worst trading day of the year Wednesday even as investors continue to question the depth of demand for its flagship iPhone X amid reports of slashed sales forecasts.

European chipmakers in the company's supply chain were marked notably lower in early trading, although much of the reaction was delayed owing to market closures around the region on Tuesday. Dialog Semiconductor AG (DLGNF) , slumped 3.26% to €24.6 each while STMicroelectronics (SSNLF) was seen 2% lower in Wednesday trading, while ASM International NV (ASMVY) fell 1.2% by mid-day in Amsterdam.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology sector subindex was marked 0.9% lower at 440.71 points.

The moves followed a sharp 2.54% slump in Apple shares on Wall Street Tuesday, its biggest single-day decline since August, that was pegged to a report from Taiwan's Economic Daily newspaper suggesting the tech giant was ready to slash its iPhone X sales forecasts to 30 million from 50 million over the three months ending in December.

TjheStreet