US pre-open: Futures edge higher as oil prices stage solid rebound

US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday, with Wall Street seemingly on course to snap a two-day losing streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open up approximately 33 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are both set to begin the session two points higher.

The economic calendar has little on offer on Wednesday, with the highlight of the session being October figures on wholesale inventories, which are released at 1500 GMT.

Positive data fails to lift Asian stocks

Elsewhere, Asian stocks declined for a second consecutive day, despite better-than-expected economic data from Japan and China.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics earlier in the session, China registered its 45th consecutive month of producer-price deflation, as producer prices declined 5.9% year-on-year in November, in line with the decline registered in October and slightly better than the 6% drop analysts had expected.

Meanwhile, the consumer price index rose 1.5% year-on-year last month, beating expectations for a 1.4% gain and up from the 1.3% advance recorded in October.

“An acceleration in monetary growth and strong wage growth will stoke broader price pressures,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics.

“With the sharp falls in the price of oil and other commodities at the end of last year now starting to drop out of the base for comparison, both CPI and PPI are set to pick-up markedly over the coming months, easing concerns over deflation.”

European stocks were on the back foot, while oil prices rebounded after the selloff of the last couple of days, with West Texas Intermediate rising 1.55% to $38.10 a barrel while Brent crude climbed 1.27% to $40.78 a barrel.

The dollar was on the back foot against the main currencies, falling 0.20% and 0.23% against the yen and the euro respectively and losing 0.33% against the pound, while spot gold rose 0.27% to $1,077.82.

In company news, energy giant Kinder Morgan fell 7.76% in pre-market trading after slashing its dividend late on Tuesday, while Alibaba fell 0.45% after reports suggested Yahoo may stop the spinoff of its stake in the Chinese e-commerce firm.

Yahoo shares were up 0.49%, while Lululemon Athletica slumped 7.98% after reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue.

Dow Chemical surged 7.17% following reports it was in advanced talks to complete a merger with DuPont, whose shares fell 0.75% ahead of the bell.

Costco Wholesale gained 1.05% despite posting quarterly profit that missed expectations.