Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 standing just 1% below its all-time peak as oil prices moved further above the $50-level.
The blue-chip Dow futures rose 23 points, or 0.13%, by 10:50GMT, or 6:50AM ET, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 4 points, or 0.15%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 5 points, or 0.09%.
Wall Street ended mostly higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing up 0.1% at 2,112, less than 20 points away from its record closing high marked in May last year.
This week’s gains have been driven in large part due to hints that the Federal Reserve will hold off on raising interest rates in June and possibly the entire summer and as oil prices rallied to the highest level since July.
Oil prices added to overnight gains on Wednesday, climbing to a fresh 11-month high amid speculation weekly supply data due later in the session will show U.S. crude inventories fell at a faster pace than expected last week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 14:30GMT, or 10:30AM ET, amid expectations for a drop of 2.8 million barrels. After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. oil inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended June 3.
U.S. crude was up 70 cents, or 1.39%, to $51.06 a barrel during morning hours in New York, while Brent advanced 73 cents, or 1.42%, at $52.17.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell to 93.67, the lowest since May 11. It last stood at 93.70, down 0.15% for the day.
Market players are pricing in just a 4% chance for a rate hike later this month and 27% for July, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool. September odds were at about 44%.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said earlier this week that the central bank plans to raise interest rate hikes, but gave no indication on the timing of the rate hikes.
Investors all but ruled out a rate hike at the Fed’s June 14-15 meeting after U.S. employment data last week showed the economy added just 38,000 jobs last month, the smallest increase since September 2010.
In a light day for U.S. economic data, the Labor Department is due to release a report on the number of available jobs in April at 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
Among active pre-market movers, shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) declined 3% ahead of the open after the yoga wear retailer reported earnings and gave a second-quarter sales forecast below expectations.
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) popped nearly 5% after the gaming and entertainment company posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue in the first fiscal quarter after Tuesday’s closing bell.
Elsewhere, European and Asian stock markets were mostly lower amid concerns over the health of the global economy.
The World Bank cut its 2016 global growth forecast on Wednesday to 2.4% from the 2.9% estimated in January, citing "sluggish growth in advanced economies, stubbornly low commodity prices, weak global trade, and diminishing capital flows."
Monthly trade data released earlier showed that both Chinese exports and imports fell in May, adding to concerns over the health of the world’s second largest economy.
Exports slumped 4.1% from a year earlier, worse than forecasts for a decline of 3.6%, while imports dropped 0.4%, compared to expectations for a fall of 6.0%. That left China with a surplus of $50.0 billion last month, the General Administration of Customs said.
Despite the weak exports, the Chinese central bank said on Wednesday it still expects the economy to grow by 6.8% this year.