Investing.com – U.S. futures pointed to higher opening bell on Wednesday as Washington and Beijing concluded three days of trade negotiations on a high note.
The S&P 500 futures rose 5 points or 0.21% as of 6:41 AM ET (11:41 GMT) while Dow futures gained 71 points, or 0.30%. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased 21 points, or 0.33%.
The U.S.-China trade meetings were originally scheduled for two days but were extended to a third day, which Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said was a sign that both sides are serious.
Another meeting between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is expected later in the month. The two countries have until March 1 to make a deal before the U.S. plans to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was among the top gainers in premarket trading, rising 1.5% despite news that it is cutting iPhone production by 10%. Semiconductor company Micron (NASDAQ:MU) rose 1.4% while Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) inched up 0.2%. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) inched up 0.13%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) gained 0.5%.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down 0.6% after news that the company is being sued by the family of a Florida man who died in an accident while driving a Tesla car. The family alleges that the battery was defective.
On the central banking front, the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes are released at 2:00 PM ET (19:00 GMT). Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic, Chicago Fed chief Charles Evans and Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren are expected to speak throughout the day.
In commodities, gold futures decreased 0.34% to $1,281.55 a troy ounce, while crude oil rose 2% to $50.79 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was flat at 95.47.