Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wednesday, supported by news of fresh easing measures by the Bank of Japan, although concerns over the handling of Spain's debt woes continued to weigh on sentiment.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% gain.
The BoJ said earlier that it was boosting the size of its asset-purchase program by JPY10 trillion, in an effort to boost slowing economic activity and to counter the strengthening yen.
In a statement accompanying the policy decision, the bank said the pickup in economic activity has “come to a pause” as overseas economies moved deeper into slowdown, and that the activity was “expected to level off, more or less.”
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid reports Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy remains uncertain about asking for help from the European Central Bank's new bond-purchasing program, which would mean signing up to a permanent bailout fund.
The tech sector was expected to be active, after Microsoft raised its dividend by 15% on Tuesday, marking a slowdown in the growth in payouts to investors after a year marked by a downturn in computer sales and a large write-off for a failed acquisition. The news sent shares down 0.28% in after-hour trade.
Meanwhile, Apple edged up 0.12% pre-market, after the iPhone maker and four major publishers offered to let retailers such as Amazon sell e-books at a discount for two years to end a European Union antitrust investigation, according to the European Commission. Shares in Amazon rose 0.42% in early trading.
In the financial sector, Goldman Sachs announced late on Tuesday that senior trading executive Harvey Schwartz would take over as CFO, replacing David Viniar, who will be joining the company's board as non-independent director.
Elsewhere in company news, Northrop Grumman and AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica, said on Tuesday they were joining forces to compete for the new U.S. Air Force Combat Rescue helicopter and the U.S. Navy's new "Marine One" presidential helicopter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were little changed. The EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.01%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.01% higher, Germany's DAX dipped 0.01%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.15%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.16%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.19%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and on housing starts, followed by government data on crude oil stockpiles, as well as an industry report on existing home sales.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% gain.
The BoJ said earlier that it was boosting the size of its asset-purchase program by JPY10 trillion, in an effort to boost slowing economic activity and to counter the strengthening yen.
In a statement accompanying the policy decision, the bank said the pickup in economic activity has “come to a pause” as overseas economies moved deeper into slowdown, and that the activity was “expected to level off, more or less.”
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid reports Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy remains uncertain about asking for help from the European Central Bank's new bond-purchasing program, which would mean signing up to a permanent bailout fund.
The tech sector was expected to be active, after Microsoft raised its dividend by 15% on Tuesday, marking a slowdown in the growth in payouts to investors after a year marked by a downturn in computer sales and a large write-off for a failed acquisition. The news sent shares down 0.28% in after-hour trade.
Meanwhile, Apple edged up 0.12% pre-market, after the iPhone maker and four major publishers offered to let retailers such as Amazon sell e-books at a discount for two years to end a European Union antitrust investigation, according to the European Commission. Shares in Amazon rose 0.42% in early trading.
In the financial sector, Goldman Sachs announced late on Tuesday that senior trading executive Harvey Schwartz would take over as CFO, replacing David Viniar, who will be joining the company's board as non-independent director.
Elsewhere in company news, Northrop Grumman and AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica, said on Tuesday they were joining forces to compete for the new U.S. Air Force Combat Rescue helicopter and the U.S. Navy's new "Marine One" presidential helicopter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were little changed. The EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.01%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.01% higher, Germany's DAX dipped 0.01%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.15%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.16%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.19%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and on housing starts, followed by government data on crude oil stockpiles, as well as an industry report on existing home sales.