All are awaiting President-elect Donald Trump's speech this morning. Early indications suggest that Wall Street stocks may open Wednesday's session modestly higher. The market may react to a cut in global economic prospects by the World Bank to a growth of 2.7 percent this year instead of 2.8 percent projected in June last year. Asian stocks closed broadly higher, while European shares are trading higher. As of 6:30 am ET, the Dow futures are climbing 14 points, the S&P 500 futures are up 0.25 points, and the Nasdaq 100 futures are advancing 5.25 points. Tuesday, U.S. stocks ended mixed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed higher for the sixth straight session, climbing 20.00 points or 0.4 percent to a new record closing high of 5,551.82. The S&P 500 ended the day unchanged at 2,269.90, while the Dow dipped 31.85 points or 0.2 percent to 19,855.53. On the economic front, the Mortgage Bankers' Association's Mortgage Applications will be released at 7.00 am ET. In the previous week the composite index decreased 12 percent, while purchase index was down 2 percent. Refinance index declined 22 percent. The Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations survey results for January will be released at 10 am ET. In the previous month, the business inflation expectations were 2.1 percent. The Energy Information Administration or EIA's petroleum status report is expected at 10.30 am ET. In the previous week, the crude oil inventories were down 7.1 million barrels. Gasoline was at 8.3 million barrels. The auction of 10-year Treasury notes will be held at 1.00 pm. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley speaks about banking culture from a regulatory perspective at the Culture Imperative - An Interbank Symposium in New York at 1.20 pm ET. In the corporate segment, Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) announced the promotion of Thomas Nealon as president, and Michael Van de Ven as chief operating officer. These changes are effective immediately. The Taiwan Fund Inc. (TWN) announced first-quarter net investment loss of $366,299 or $0.05 per share. United Airlines (UAL) reported 2.6 percent increase in traffic for December to 17.595 billion revenue passenger miles from 17.148 billion a year ago. The airlines' capacity increased by 2.6 percent from last year. Loaf factor for the month was up 0.1 points to 83.1 percent from 83 percent in the comparable period a year ago. Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Wednesday announced the appointment of Larry Paulson as vice president and president of Qualcomm India, effective immediately. Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday, while China's Shanghai bucked the trend. Japanese share trended up, snapping a three-day losing streak. China's Shanghai Composite index ended down 24.92 points or 0.79 percent at 3,136.75. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed higher 190.50 points or 0.84 percent at 22,935.35. Japanese shares eked out modest gains as a weaker yen boosted exporters. The Nikkei average rose 63.23 points or 0.33 percent to 19,364.67, the broader Topix index closed 0.52 percent higher at 1,550.40. Australian shares posted modest gains as resources stocks rallied on higher commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 10.80 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 5,771.50, while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 10.70 points or 0.18 percent higher at 5,823.70. European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is climbing 6.53 points or 0.57 percent, the German DAX is up 29.25 points or 0.25 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is advancing 8.50 points or 0.10 percent, and the Swiss Market Index is progressing 8.44 points or 0.10 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.10 percent. by RTT Staff Writer For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

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