Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Wednesday morning, with market players keeping a watchful eye on moves in the tech and oil space, while monitoring headlines out of Washington for any news on healthcare legislation.
The blue-chip Dow futures inched up 23 points, or around 0.1%, by 6:45AM ET (1045GMT), the S&P 500 futures tacked on 3 points, or about 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures lost 12 points, or roughly 0.2%.
U.S. equities closed broadly lower Tuesday, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest one-day drop in about six weeks, as large-cap technology stocks fell sharply.
Stocks accelerated their losses late Tuesday after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell moved to delay a planned vote on healthcare reform until after the Senate's July 4 recess, hoping to get more support from Republican senators.
Market participants are concerned that the Trump administration will find it hard to follow through with tax cuts and fiscal stimulus steps, without first getting the healthcare bill passed.
Elsewhere, oil prices edged lower as investors looked ahead to the Energy Department's weekly supply report at 10:30AM ET (1430GMT).
U.S. crude was at $44.11 a barrel, down 13 cents, or around 0.3%, while Brent shed 4 cents to $46.88.
Besides the oil report, preliminary data on international trade figures is due at 8:30AM ET (1230GMT) followed by pending home sales at 10AM ET (1400GMT).
In earnings news, Monsanto (NYSE:MON), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) and Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR) are all set to report corporate results on Wednesday.
In other markets, European stocks dropped on worries the European Central Bank may start winding down monetary stimulus. Earlier, in Asia, markets ended mostly lower.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell almost 0.3% to 95.93 in early trade, after falling to its lowest since October at 95.86 in overnight trade, amid fresh political jitters in the U.S.