Investing.com – Wall Street pointed to a flat opening on Wednesday amid uncertainty surrounding the U.K.’s departure from the European Union after Parliament voted against Prime Minister Theresa May’s revised plan for a second time.
It is unlikely that Parliament will vote in favor of leaving the EU without a plan, but what happens next is still unclear, as the EU has said it will not negotiate any further on the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement between the two.
Dow futures fell 17 points to 0.07% by 6:40 AM ET (10:40 GMT), as Boeing (NYSE:BA) again dragged on the index. The airplane maker slipped 1.8% in premarket trading as countries around the world moved to ground the company’s biggest cash cow, despite the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority's reassurances that it's safe to fly.
Meanwhile S&P 500 futures rose 2 points or 0.08% and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up 7 points or 0.10%.
Trade concerns returned to the spotlight, after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee that the country is still keeping the option of raising tariffs on Chinese imports, putting pressure on Beijing to make further concessions on a trade deal that is still being finalized.
“We have to maintain the right to be able to -- whatever happens to the current tariffs -- to raise tariffs in situations where there’s violations of the agreement,” he said.
Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) inched up 0.4% in premarket trading amid news that the company has hired the Royal Bank of Canada to review options for its Breakstone's sour cream business, including a sale.
Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) jumped 17.8% after news that its CEO John Standley and other top executives are leaving the company, amid a broader management restructuring.
Elsewhere, semiconductor company Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) fell 0.5%, while Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) slipped 0.3% and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down 0.6%
On the economic front, durable goods orders and producer prices are due to be released at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT).
In commodities, gold futures gained 0.8% to $1,308.65 a troy ounce, while crude oil jumped 1% to $57.48 a barrel due to an unexpected drop in U.S. stockpiles and a downward revision to U.S. output this year by the government. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.04% to 96.863.