Will things improve as the day continues?
1. Market overview
1. Market overview
U.S. stock futures and major global indexes are falling. All major European markets are down by more than 1% in early trading. Nearly all Asian markets ended the day with losses.
Sentiment continues to be driven by fluctuations in crude oil prices, which are falling by 3% to $31 per barrel.
U.S. crude prices dropped about 5% on Tuesday after Iran called Saudi Arabia's plan to freeze production a "joke."
Investors were also discouraged by comments from Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali al-Naimi. He said it would be a waste of time to seek a coordinated global production cut.
"Not many countries are going to deliver, even if they say they will cut production they are not going to deliver," he said at an energy conference in Texas.
2. GBP gets slammed
2. GBP gets slammed
The British pound has hit a new seven-year low versus the U.S. dollar over worries the country could vote to leave the European Union. A referendum on the issue is scheduled for June 23.
Many banks and big businesses are urging Britons to vote to stay in the EU because they worry that trade, jobs and investment would suffer if the U.K. goes it alone. Pro-Brexit campaigners argue that the country will do better if it retains control over lawmaking and immigration by leaving the EU.
The U.K. pound is now trading at $1.39.
3. Gold and JPY edging higher
3. Gold and JPY edging higher
Gold futures pushed higher in Europe trade on Wednesday, as market players awaited comments from a barrage of Federal Reserve officials later in the session for further clues on the path of future rate hikes.
A day earlier, gold prices rallied $12.50, or 1.03%, as investors sought safer assets amid steep declines in oil prices and global stock markets.
Gold traders looked ahead to speeches from three Fed officials on Wednesday to judge the balance of opinion among policymakers on the prospect of further rate hikes.
The Japanese yen JPY - often sought by investors as a shelter when riskier assets are under pressure, hit an almost three-year high against the euro EUR/JPY= of 123.04 yen.
4. Economics and recap
4. Economics and recap
Traders will be watching for two important economic reports Wednesday.
New home sales figures from the U.S. Census Bureau come out at at 10 a.m. ET.
The government will release crude oil inventories data at 10:30 a.m. These weekly updates have recently been showing that America is pumping so much oil that it's running out of places to keep it all.
It's been an exciting week in the markets and Wednesday has barely even begun.
The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq surged by over 1% on Monday but then gave up most of those gains Tuesday.
