US pre-open: Futures little changed ahead of Fed minutes

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were little changed ahead of the bell on Wednesday as investors looking ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve's last monetary policy meeting. As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.09%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.07% and 0.12% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 126.13 points higher on Tuesday as tech stocks led markets higher.

Wednesday's primary focus will be minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee's September meeting at 1900 BST, with market participants hoping to gain further insight into the central bank's thinking as it lowered interest rates by 50 basis points- its first interest rate cut in four years

On the macro front, US mortgage applications fell by 5.1% in the week ended 4 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the prior week's 1.3% drop in taking a bite out of the almost 30% surge in demand throughout September. Applications to refinance a mortgage sank by 9%, while those to purchase a home were broadly unchanged.

Still to come, August wholesale inventory numbers will be published at 1500 BST, while San Francisco Federal Reserve president Mary Daly will deliver a speech at 2300 BST.

In the corporate space, Alphabet shares were lower in pre-market trading after the Department of Justice said it was looking into a possible forced breakup of search engine giant Google, while shares in aircraft manufacturer Boeing flew lower ahead of the open after strike talks with its workers' union hit an impasse.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com