Global stocks were weak on Wednesday morning, with a disappointing reading on U.S. manufacturing activity hanging over investor sentiment.
U.S. stock index futures were down, suggesting that stocks will fall at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 30 points or 0.3 per cent. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were down 3 points or 0.3 per cent.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX index were down 0.6 per cent each in afternoon trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2.7 per cent in overnight trading.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders in June fell 1 per cent, a big disappointment next to the 1.1 per cent gain expected by economists.
In earnings news, Boeing Co. reported that its net earnings in the second quarter sank 21 per cent from last year. While that result actually topped expectations, the shares were down slightly in premarket activity because revenue also fell during the quarter.