Investing.com - U.S. stock markets pointed to a flat open on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hovering around record highs as investors reevaluated the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.
The blue-chip Dow futures tacked on 5 points, or 0.03%, by 10:53GMT, or 6:53AM ET, the S&P 500 futures inched up 2 points, or 0.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 3 points, or 0.06%.
The Nasdaq rose to a record high close on Tuesday, while other major indexes hovered near their own recent all-time highs in a session with thin trading volume.
Trading volumes are expected to be relatively light this week with many traders and investors on a summer break.
On the data front, Job Openings and Labor Turnover data is due at 10:00AM ET, or 14:00GMT, as traders search for more clues on the strength of the economy and the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
Disappointing U.S. nonfarm productivity data on Tuesday dampened optimism over the health of the economy and reduced the prospect of an early interest rate rise from the Federal Reserve.
Fed funds futures prices showed traders now see a 40% chance of a U.S. rate hike by December, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) Fed Watch tool. That compares with around 50% at the start of the week. September odds were at around 15% early on Wednesday, down from 20% a day earlier.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell to 95.55 in early trade, moving away from levels near 96.50 just a few days ago.
Meanwhile, second quarter earnings season continues to wind down. Stocks set to report before Wednesday's opening bell include Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS), Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) and Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN), while Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) and Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) report after the market close.
Among active pre-market movers, Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) shares lost nearly 2% despite the company's third quarter earnings and revenue beat reported after Tuesday's closing bell. The media giant also said it bought a 33% stake in video-streaming firm BAMTech for $1 billion in an effort lure online viewers.
Shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP) spiked nearly 11% ahead of the open as the consumer review website operator swung to an unexpected second quarter profit and raised its full-year revenue forecast.
SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) shares sank almost 25% after the company reported better than expected second quarter revenue but said it would cut 15% of its workforce.
Elsewhere, European and U.K. stock markets edged lower in mid-morning trade Wednesday, with energy shares among those pulling the regional benchmark away from its post-Brexit high.
Earlier, Asian shares closed mixed, as traders eyed moves in oil prices ahead of a flurry of Chinese data later in the week. In Japan, the Nikkei slumped amid a stronger yen.
In the commodities space, oil prices were down over 1% on Wednesday, as market players awaited fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 14:30GMT, or 10:30AM ET, Wednesday amid expectations for a drop of 1.025 million barrels.
Gold, on the other hand, spiked almost 1% as investors reevaluated the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.
The yellow metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.