Tech Shares Lift Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia Up, Europe Lower

Wall Street futures pointed moderately higher pre-bell Wednesday, after ASML (ASML) the giant Dutch maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, reported record Q2 earnings and raised guidance. In the futures, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Nasdaq inclined 0.4% and the Dow Jones was even. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) traded up 1.2% pre-bell. Investors also await the producer price index (PPI) report for June, from Washington at 8:30 am ET, likely to provide clues to how higher energy bills are impacting farmers, manufacturers and others. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will testify before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 am ET, following a similar presentation Tuesday before the House. Warsh signaled a commitment to containing inflation, before the lower body. Asian exchanges traded higher overnight, on tech-sector strength. European bourses tracked slightly lower on the continent. On the earnings scene, BlackRock (BLK) traded up 4.7% pre-bell after the investment house reported better-than-expected Q2 financial results. PayPal (PYPL) traded up 19% pre-bell after media reports that Stripe and Advent International, both privately held, have proposed a $53 billion.