Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a slightly lower opening on Wednesday following the downturn seen over the course of the previous session.
Political uncertainty may weigh on the markets after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced that the Democrat-controlled House is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
Pelosi said she is directing six House committees to proceed with their investigations under the umbrella of the impeachment inquiry, saying Trump ?must be held accountable? and ?no one is above the law.?
The speaker accused Trump of a breach of his constitutional responsibilities by calling upon a foreign power to intervene in the upcoming election.
Trump faces allegations he threatened to withhold military aid from Ukraine unless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conducted an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Early trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders wait for Trump to release a White House transcript of his controversial call with Zelensky.
The president has admitted discussing the issue with Zelensky but has repeatedly claimed there was ?no quid pro quo.?
Reports have indicated the transcript of Trump?s call will with Zelensky does not include a ?smoking gun,? potentially taking the sting out of the Democrats? impeachment threat.
Conservative media outlets have also already begun seeking to damage the credibility of the whistleblower who brought the issue to light.
Stocks moved to the upside early in the trading day on Tuesday but showed a significant downturn over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs and firmly into negative territory.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels but remained stuck in the red. The Dow fell 142.22 points or 0.5 percent to 26,807.77, the Nasdaq tumbled 118.84 points or 1.5 percent to 7,993.63 and the S&P 500 slid 25.18 points or 0.8 percent to 2,966.60.
Early buying interest faded following the release of a report from the Conference Board showing a substantial deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of September.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 125.1 in September from a downwardly revised 134.2 in August.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to dip to 133.0 from the 135.1 originally reported for the previous month.
Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board, said an escalation in trade and tariff tensions in late August appears to have rattled consumers.
“However, this pattern of uncertainty and volatility has persisted for much of the year and it appears confidence is plateauing,” Franco said.
She added, “While confidence could continue hovering around current levels for months to come, at some point this continued uncertainty will begin to diminish consumers’ confidence in the expansion.”
Stocks saw further downside in afternoon trading amid reports Pelosi was prepared to announce a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.
Oil service stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 5.1 percent. The sell-off by oil service stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
Substantial weakness also emerged among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Biotechnology stocks also showed a significant move to the downside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index plunging by 2.4 percent.
Natural gas, brokerage, and semiconductor stocks also saw notable weakness, while considerable strength was visible among gold and utilities stocks.
