US pre-open: Futures in the red ahead of FOMC minutes

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Wednesday as market participants awaited the publication of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.40%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.38% and 0.41% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 48.38 points higher on Tuesday after the blue-chip index staged a late rally amid a decline in the yield of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note.

Wednesday's primary focus will be minutes from the FOMC's meeting on 4 May, scheduled for release at 1900 BST, with investors looking to gain greater insight into the central bank's thought process as it hiked rates by half a percentage point.

Chairman Jerome Powell said that inflation was "much too high" and that the Fed understood "the hardship" it has caused. "We're moving expeditiously to bring it back down," he said.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications declined 1.2% in the week ended 20 May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, as heightened prices and elevated rates continued to weigh on affordability. The drop follows an 11% drop in the previous week.

Still to come, April durable goods orders data will be out at 1330 BST.

In the corporate space, Nordstrom shares traded higher before the open after the retailer beat sales expectations and upped its full-year guidance amid a surge in demand, while homebuilder Toll Brothers posted quarterly results that came in ahead of analysts' expectations.

As far as Wednesday's earnings go, Dick's Sporting Goods will update on recent trading before the bell, while Box, Universal, Nvidia, Guess, and Williams-Sonoma will all report after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com