Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of key U.S. economic reports, as well as the Federal Reserve's monthly policy statement.
Ahead of the open, the Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.04% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.28% loss.
In its upcoming policy statement, the Fed was expected to stick to its current timetable for tapering its asset purchase program.
On Tuesday, data showed that U.S. consumer confidence dipped this month but remained close to recent highs. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 82.3 in April from a revised 83.9 in March, the highest level since January 2008. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 83.0.
Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), the largest U.S. nuclear operator, was expected to be active after saying it has agreed to buy Pepcp Holdings (NYSE:POM) for more than $5.4 billion in cash.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) was also likely to be in focus, after the company said late Tuesday that membership in the first quarter reached 255 million, with year-over-year growth declining to 25% from 30% in the previous period.
The company added that sales more than doubled to $250 million, topping analyst estimates, but shares still dove 11.31% in pre-market trade.
Meanwhile, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced that it will begin selling its Xbox One video-game console in China in September, after a 13-year ban on such equipment was lifted in January.
The device will reportedly be sold through Microsoft’s partnership with BesTV New Medi, a unit of Shanghai Media Group.
Elsewhere, shares in General Electric (NYSE:GE) held steady in extended trade after French group Alstom (ALSO.PARIS) on Wednesday said it was considering the U.S. company's $13.5 billion bid for its energy unit.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Thomson Reuters (TRI) and Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slid 0.38%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.38%, Germany's DAX fell 0.14%, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.08%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng plummeted 1.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.11%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data on first quarter gross domestic product, as well as the ADP report on private sector job creation and data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region.