Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately lower open on Wednesday, as investors awaited a string of U.S. economic reports due later in the day and remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank's policy statement on Thursday.
Ahead of the open, the Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.13% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% decline.
Investors were eyeing U.S. data to be released later in the day, after a report on Tuesday showed that U.S. factory orders rose 0.7% in April, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain, after an upwardly revised 1.5% increase in March.
The auto sector was expected to be active, after Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said he plans to stay at least another 4 to 5 years at the head of the electric car company.
Separately, General Motors (NYSE:GM) gained 0.68% in after-hour trade after saying on Tuesday that sales rose above estimates in May. The company also apologized in a statement to the families of accident victims who have been asked to bring in cars to replace defective ignition switches.
GM has recalled 2.6 million vehicles to replace a defective switch that has been linked to 13 fatalities.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) was also set to be in the spotlight, following reports the social media giant will be acquiring Pryte, a Finnish company that aims to make it easier for mobile phone users in under-developed parts of the world to use wireless Internet apps.
Facebook shares slipped 0.24% in extended trade.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Brown Forman (NYSE:BFb) and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV), scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slid 0.73%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.74%, Germany's DAX dropped 0.52%, while Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.39%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.60%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.22%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the ADP report on private sector job creation, as well as a report on trade balance.