Wall Street set to open lower after record highs

Wall Street looked set to open lower on Wednesday as investors likely booked profit following two straight days of record highs for the three major indexes and ahead of a raft of economic data this week.

Global stock markets hit a record high with investors in exuberant mood in the United States overnight and in Asia, but sentiment in Europe was soured by a political crisis gathering steam in Spain.

"The (U.S.) market has been on a slow drift upward, in anticipation of the earnings season coming and the hopes about tax reform," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City.

"I think you`re just seeing some small profit taking in the absence of new news."

The dollar was off seven-week highs on speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump`s choice for the next head of the Federal Reserve could be a less hawkish candidate than had previously been expected.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to address the Community Banking in the 21st Century Research and Policy Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The rest of the week is loaded with heavy economic data, culminating in Friday`s nonfarm payrolls report for September.

The ADP National Employment Report indicated that private jobs increased by 135,000 in September, the smallest increase since October 2016 as Hurricane Harvey and Irma "significantly impacted smaller retailers."

At 8:31 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 25 points, or 0.11 percent, with 14,866 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 e-minis were down 3.25 points, or 0.13 percent, with 100,972 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 13 points, or 0.22 percent, on volume of 16,738 contracts.

Among other data scheduled include the Institute for Supply Management`s reading on national nonmanufacturing. The reading, expected at 10:00 a.m ET (1400GMT), is seen to be little changed at 55.5 for September.

Shares of Mylan NV jumped nearly 16.7 percent premarket, while Teva Pharmaceutical Industries fell 14 percent after the U.S. FDA approved Mylan`s copycat version of Teva`s blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug.

PepsiCo shares were down 2 percent after the company cut organic revenue forecast for the year.

Amazon shares were lower after the European Union ordered the world`s largest online retailer to pay back about 250 million euros ($294 million) in taxes to Luxembourg.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

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