US pre-open: Futures moderately higher ahead of FOMC minutes

Wall Street futures were slightly higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday after the S&P 500 snapped a seven-day winning streak in the previous session.

As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.08%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.19% and 0.54% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 208.98 points lower on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 fell just short of extending its run of gains for another day.

Energy stocks were again in focus ahead of the bell on Wednesday after West Texas Intermediate crude briefly hit a six-year high yesterday, while bank shares were in the red before the open after long-term bond yields fell further, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipping to 1.35%.

Wednesday's primary focus, however, will be minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee's latest meeting at 1900 BST, with market participants looking out for further hints on the direction of the central bank's monetary policy.

AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam said: "These minutes would provide hints of potential changes in the monetary policy in the short term. Having said that, the minutes are expected to stay dovish as inflation remains under control and the labor market grows at a sustainable pace.

"Stock traders should understand that the tapering of the monthly bond purchases of $120.0bn is very likely going to be a signal of a potential hike in interest rates."

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 1.8% in the week ended 2 July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with both purchases and refinancing seeing a further dip as housing market conditions continue to moderate further.

Still to come, JOLTs job openings data for May will be published at 1500 BST and the hotly awaited minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee's last meeting will be released at 1900 BST.

No major corporate results were slated for release on Wednesday.