Investing.com - U.S. stock markets pointed to a marginally lower open on Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting, while keeping an eye on oil prices.
The blue-chip Dow futures shed 17 points, or 0.09%, by 6:53AM ET (10:53GMT), the S&P 500 futures dipped 2 points, or 0.06%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures slumped 2 points, or 0.04%.
U.S. stocks eased from record highs on Tuesday after comments from a pair of Federal Reserve officials fueled speculation of an interest rate hike before the end of this year.
Investors will be focusing on minutes of the Fed’s most recent policy meeting due at 2:00PM ET (18:00GMT) for further clarity on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike. Ahead of the minutes Wednesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks at 1:00PM ET (17:00GMT).
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged following its meeting on July 27 and said near-term risks to the U.S. economic outlook had diminished. However, the central bank stopped short of signaling a near-term rate rise.
Fed funds futures are currently pricing in a 15% chance of a rate hike by September. December odds were at around 53%, up from 42% a day earlier.
Speculation of a U.S. rate hike in the coming months mounted after New York Fed President William Dudley and Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart both said on Tuesday that interest rates could rise as soon as September.
The dollar rebounded from 7-week lows against the yen and euro on Wednesday as fresh hopes for a 2016 rate hike by the Federal Reserve lifted demand for the greenback.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.2% at 94.95, after falling to 94.37 in the prior session, the lowest since June 24.
Meanwhile, oil prices were down around 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 at 10:30AM ET (14:30GMT) Wednesday amid expectations for a rise in crude stockpiles, but a drop in gasoline inventories.
In earnings news, Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS), the biggest U.S. office supplies retailer, reported a 3.7% drop in quarterly sales ahead of Wednesday's opening bell, reflecting a lower store count and a strong dollar.
Shares of Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) fell almost 4% in pre-market trading after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that missed analysts' expectations. The home improvement retailer also lowered its full-year guidance.
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) reported earnings that topped Wall Street's expectations by 11 cents a share and rose slightly over the prior year, while revenue came in roughly in line with forecasts. Yet given what the company characterized as a "difficult" retail environment, the retailer lowered its guidance for the full year.
Meanwhile, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) will lay off around 14,000 employees, equivalent to nearly 20% of its workforce, according to a report citing sources close to the company from tech news site CRN. The blue-chip network equipment maker will report fiscal fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday after the market close.
Elsewhere, European and U.K. stock markets edged lower in choppy mid-morning trade Wednesday, as investors waited for clues to whether U.S. policy makers are ready to start raising interest rates.
Earlier, Asian shares closed mixed overnight, as investors remained cautious ahead of the closely-watched release of the Federal Reserve's latest minutes.