US pre-open: Futures lower following Dow's big session

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Wednesday following big gains for the blue-chip Dow Jones in the previous session.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.15%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.73% and 1.23% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 742.76 points higher on Tuesday as traders became more optimistic on interest rate cuts.

Tech darling Nvidia was sharply lower in pre-market trading on the back of news that the Biden administration was considering tougher trade restrictions if companies continue to give Chinese firms access to US-made semiconductor technology, while Taiwan Semiconductor shares were also in the red on the news, with comments from Donald Trump that Taiwan should be paying the US for defence also weighing on the stock.

Trump also said he would allow Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell to serve out his term if he thought "he was doing the right thing", presumably referring to the central bank cutting interest rates.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications surged 3.9% week-on-week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, erasing the prior two week's declines and marking the sharpest increase in a month. Applications to refinance a mortgage soared 15%, offsetting a 3% drop in applications to purchase a home.

Still to come, monthly building permits and housing starts data will be out at 1330 BST, while capacity utilisation and industrial production figures will follow at 1415 BST.

In terms of Q2 earnings, United Airlines, US Bancorp, Johnson & Johnson and Equifax were all slated to report earnings on Wednesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com