Investing.com - U.S. stock markets pointed to sharp losses at the open on Wednesday, with the Dow futures falling more than 100 points as ongoing weakness in oil prices weighed on risk appetite.
The blue-chip Dow futures dropped 142 points, or 0.87%, by 11:55GMT, or 6:55AM ET, the S&P 500 futures shed 17 points, or 0.85%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures slumped 50 points, or 1.2%.
Oil prices extended sharp losses from the prior session on Wednesday, after Saudi Arabia dashed hopes for collective production cuts and following bearish industry data on U.S. stockpiles.
U.S. crude was down $1.17, or 3.67%, at $30.70 a barrel during early morning hours in New York, while Brent fell 82 cents, or 2.46%, to $32.45.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 15:30GMT, or 10:30AM ET, Wednesday, amid expectations for a gain of 3.5 million barrels.
Aside from the weekly oil report, the February flash services PMI is due at 14:45GMT, or 9:45AM ET, while January new home sales are scheduled for release at 15:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
Market players also looked ahead to speeches from three Federal Reserve officials later in the day to judge the balance of opinion among policymakers on the prospect of further rate hikes.
Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker is scheduled to speak at 13:00GMT, or 8:00AM ET, while Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan is expected at 18:15GMT, or 13:15PM ET. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is scheduled to give remarks after the market closes at 7:00PM ET.
In earnings news,Lowe`s Companies Inc (N:LOW), Chesapeake Energy (N:CHK), Target Corporation (N:TGT) and TJX Companies Inc (N:TJX) are due to report ahead of the opening bell, while Salesforce.com (N:CRM) and Transocean Ltd (N:RIG) are among those posting results after the close.
Among active pre-market movers, U.S.-listed shares of major European miners slumped after Citigroup (N:C) cut the sector to neutral from bullish. BHP Billiton Ltd (N:BHP) was down 7.6% ahead of the open, while Rio Tinto PLC (N:RIO) dropped 7.2%.
On the upside, Dreamworks Animation (O:DWA) jumped nearly 10% in pre-market trade after the company blew past fourth quarter earnings estimates after Tuesday’s closing bell.
Online craft marketplace Etsy Inc (O:ETSY) saw shares pop 15.8% after reporting revenues that easily beat market forecasts late Tuesday.
Elsewhere, European stock markets tracked their Asian counterparts lower as prolonged weakness in oil prices and ongoing concerns surrounding global growth prompted investors to shun riskier assets.
Instead, investors favored safer assets such as, Japanese, German and U.S. government debt, as well as gold.
In the currency market, the British pound sank below the $1.39-level against the dollar for the first time since March 2009 amid growing uncertainty over the outcome of the looming referendum on Britain’s European Union membership.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.44% at 97.89, the highest since February 3.