Trading in index futures suggests stocks may open Wednesday’s session modestly higher. The lack of any major trading cues, save a couple of housing market readings, makes it difficult to predict the trading direction.

U.S. stocks got off to a lackluster start to the week, as the major averages ended a volatile session on a mixed note. The Nasdaq Composite declined sharply, while the Dow Industrials Average, the year’s outperformer, managed to end in the green. Recession fears, the rise in bond yields and sharp declines in heavily-weighted tech stocks all served to drag the averages.

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With Tuesday’s decline, the Nasdaq Composite Index has pulled back toward its early November lows. A majority of sectors declined in the session, with technology and consumer discretionary stocks bearing the brunt of the sell-off.

Here’s a peek into index futures trading:

On the economic front, the Mortgage Bankers Association will release its mortgage applications volume data for the week ended Dec. 23 at 7 a.m. EST.

The Redbook index, a sales-weighed index of year-over-year same-sales growth in a sample of large U.S. general merchandise retailers, is scheduled to be released at 8:55 a.m. EST.

At 10 a.m. EST, the National Association of Realtors will release the pending home sales index for November. Economists, on average, expect the index to edge down 0.8% month-over-month, a more modest drop compared to a 4.6% decline in October.

Around the same time, the Richmond Federal Reserve is due to release its manufacturing and service sector activity report for December. The Dallas Federal Reserve will release its regional services sector activity for December, also at 10 a.m. EST.

The U.S. Treasury is scheduled to auction five-year notes at 1 p.m. EST.

Stocks In Focus:

Commodities, Other Global Markets:

Crude oil futures were extending their slide and dropped around 0.54% to $79.10 a barrel in the European session. On Tuesday, crude oil snapped a six-session winning streak that took it past the $80 mark.

There has been a letup in the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note as it slipped 0.028%, to 3.83%.

Asia-Pacific stocks went about in a lackluster manner on Wednesday, although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced notably in reaction to the China border reopening news. The market was closed on Tuesday owing to an extended Christmas break.

In Europe, stocks are mixed, with the U.K. market, which remained closed on Tuesday, advancing, while the German and French markets were wallowing in negative territory.

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