Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, as market players looked ahead to the release of key U.S. data later in the session, amid ongoing expectations for a September rate hike.
During early morning hours in New York, the blue-chip Dow futures rose 63 points, or 0.36%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 13 points, or 0.62%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 30 points, or 0.66%.
The U.S. was to release the ADP jobs report for July at 8:15AM ET, followed by a June reading for the U.S. trade deficit at 8:30AM. At 10:00AM, the ISM was to report on service sector activity for July.
Traders were also waiting for Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. The consensus forecast is that the report will show jobs growth of 223,000 last month. Monthly jobs gains above 200,000 are seen by economists as consistent with strong employment growth.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 1.6% to $112.80 on heavy volume in pre-market trade, falling further below its 200-day moving average of $120.86. Apple is now down about 14% from its post-earnings high on July 20, entering correction territory.
Besides a weak technical picture, market analysts cited concerns over Apple's ability to sustain market leadership as well as worries over weaker growth in China.
In earnings news, Lumber Liquidators (NYSE:LL) plunged 18% ahead of the open after the company swung to surprise loss in its second quarter, amid slumping revenue.
Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) dropped 16% after the online-marketplace company reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings after Tuesday's closing bell.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) tumbled 7% after the media company reported weaker than expected revenue, citing slowing media network and parks growth.
Elsewhere, U.S.-listed shares of National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE:NBG) slumped 11%, mirroring sharper losses in Athens.
DISH Network (NASDAQ:DISH), Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN), Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI), Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL), Sodastream (NASDAQ:SODA), Wendy`s (NASDAQ:WEN), Dominion Resources (NYSE:D), Kate Spade & Co (NYSE:KATE), Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA), Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LMCA) and Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) are due to report quarterly earnings ahead of Wednesday's opening bell.
After Wednesday's close of trading, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA), Fitbit (NYSE:FIT), Keurig Green Mountain (NASDAQ:GMCR), CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX), Weight Watchers (NYSE:WTW) and Transocean (NYSE:RIG) are scheduled to report.
Stay up-to-date on the latest pre-market news and movers by visiting: http://www.investing.com/equities/pre-market.