US pre-open: Stocks seen lower ahead of FOMC minutes

US futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors eyed the release of the minutes from the latest FOMC meeting.

At 1140 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures were flat.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: "US equity markets are expected to open in the red again on Wednesday, tracking losses in Europe as stocks continue to pare last week’s strong rebound.

"It’s been a relatively quiet start to the morning and the week, with the bank holiday in the US and Canada contributing to this. The European session has been dominated by economic data releases so far and that’s likely to continue, with flash manufacturing and services data due from the US shortly after the open. It’s the FOMC minutes that will be released later in the day though that will likely be the standout event from a US perspective, particularly as the statement caused quite a stir at the end of January.

"The sell-off in the markets may have come a couple of days later but part of the initial trigger was a more hawkish sounding Fed, with the jobs report then being the straw that broke the camel’s back two days later. While the minutes may not generate quite the same response, traders will likely monitor what they say very closely for signs that policy makers are now leaning more towards three to four rate hikes this year, rather than two or three."

Capital Economics analyst Andrew Hunter said the minutes from the meeting on 31 January may bolster expectations of a 25 basis points rate hike in March, although this is almost fully discounted in markets already.

"The policy statement provided a more upbeat assessment of activity while revealing a growing confidence among Fed officials that inflation is set to rebound this year. The minutes will provide more detail on how many officials shared that view. While January’s meeting preceded the sharp falls in equity prices over the past couple of weeks, officials have not sounded too concerned and the stock market now appears to be rebounding."

Markit's composite, manufacturing and services PMIs are at 1445 GMT, while existing home sales are at 1500 GMT. Minutes from the FOMC's latest meeting are due at 1900 GMT.

In corporate news, Dish Network could see active trading after it posted a big rise in fourth-quarter profit.

Retailer Walmart will be in focus, with shares set to recover from heavy losses in the previous session when it reported a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.

Foot Locker was likely to be eyed after saying late on Tuesday that it was lifting its quarterly cash dividend and cutting its yearly capital expenditure programme.

Lending Club was set for a down day after its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and sales released late on Tuesday fell short of analysts' expectations.