UKX FTSE 100 Index

U.S. stock futures slipped ahead of the Federal Reserve's "beige book" report on the state of the economy.

S&P 500 futures edged down 0.1% and futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.1%. The contracts don't necessarily predict moves after the markets open.

Europe stocks climbed Wednesday for a two-day winning streak.

The Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.4% in morning trade, and it is at its highest level in a year. Financials and healthcare sectors led gains while communication services and utilities sectors lost ground.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100, which is dominated by large international businesses, rose 0.6%. Other stock indexes in Europe also mostly climbed as France's CAC 40 gained 0.4%, U.K.'s FTSE 250 rose 0.4% and Germany's DAX added 0.4%.

The British pound slipped 0.1% against the dollar, with 1 pound buying $1.41 whereas the Swiss franc and the euro traded flat against the U.S. dollar.

In commodities, international benchmark Brent crude was up 0.8% to $70.78 a barrel. Gold fell 0.2% to $1,900.80 a troy ounce.

The yield on German 10-year bunds was down to minus 0.190% and the yield on 10-year U.K. government debt known as gilts declined to 0.816%. 10-year U.S. Treasury yields were down to 1.602% from 1.613%. Yields move inversely to bond prices.

Stocks in Asia were mixed as Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.5% after falling as much as 0.8% during the session, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.6% and China's benchmark Shanghai Composite was lower 0.8%.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 02, 2021 03:59 ET (07:59 GMT)

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