Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to lower open on Wednesday morning, as investors shunned riskier assets amid intensifying tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, with Pyongyang saying it is considering plans to attack Guam.
A spokesman for the Korean People's Army said in a statement that it was "carefully examining" plans for a missile attack on the U.S. Pacific territory, which has a large American military base.
The comments came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea that any threat to the U.S. would be met with "fire and fury".
The escalating tensions prompted investors to dump assets seen as riskier, such as stocks and high yielding currencies, and flock to traditional safe haven assets like the yen, Swiss franc and gold.
The blue-chip Dow futures fell 34 points, or about 0.2%, by 6:30AM ET (1030GMT), the S&P 500 futures dropped 10 points, or around 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures lost 34 points, or roughly 0.6%.
U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday, scaling back from record highs, after Trump's vow to respond aggressively to any North Korean threats triggered a late afternoon selling spree.
On the data front, a report on second-quarter productivity and labor costs is due at 8:30AM ET (1230GMT), followed by wholesale inventories at 10AM ET (1400GMT).
Earnings, likewise, are expected before the bell from retailer Office Depot (NASDAQ:ODP), drug maker Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) and fast-food chain Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN).
Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX), Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) and Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) are among companies reporting after the close.
Among active pre-market movers, shares in Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) looked set for a down day, losing around 3.5% in premarket action, after it reported revenue that missed expectations late Tuesday.
The media giant also announced plans to end its distribution deal with Netflix and launch its own ESPN and Disney streaming services.
Shares in streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) fell nearly 4% premarket in response to Disney's announcement.
Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) dropped almost 7% ahead of the open. The online travel broker late Tuesday provided weak guidance for its third quarter, despite posting quarterly earnings that topped forecasts.
Shares of Fossil Group (NASDAQ:FOSL) tanked more than 20% after the fashion accessory company reported a wider-than-expected loss per share and revenue that missed Wall Street's views.
Looking to commodities, oil prices posted solid gains as investors looked ahead to the Energy Department's weekly supply report at 10:30AM ET (1430GMT).
U.S. crude was at $49.36 a barrel, up 20 cents, or around 0.4%, while Brent rose 19 cents to $52.33.