U.S. stock futures were trading slightly in the red Wednesday ahead of a meeting between European leaders Wednesday and Thursday that could give clues about Greece’s fate, even as expectations were low for a resolution to the standoff.
On Wednesday, European finance ministers will meet and then European leaders meet on Thursday. The rhetoric between Greece and its creditors has swung from conciliatory to acrimonious and back over the last few days.
Greece is seeking a bridge-loan to give it time to negotiate a longer-term agreement that would underpin its plans to roll back austerity measures while European leaders and Germany has shown little willingness to budge from the original terms of the bailout that was extended to the country.
In equities, Pier 1 Imports ( PIR ), which imports home decor and furniture, plunged 34% to a 3.5-year low before the market opened after cutting its 2015 guidance and as Telsey Advisory cut its price target on the stock by to $ 13 from $ 17. Rite Aid ( RAD ) rose 5.3% after agreeing to buy pharmacy benefit manager EnvisionRx for $ 2 billion in cash and stock.