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

US stocks looked set for a steady open on Wednesday following heavy losses in the previous session, as investors eyed the latest minutes from the FOMC.

At 1100 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were flat.

Shares tanked on Tuesday, suffering their worst day in two months after more positive economic data signalled the potential for further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

S&P Global’s US composite purchasing managers’ index for February printed at 50.2, up from 46.8 a month earlier and coming in ahead of expectations of 47.5.

James Harte, market analyst at TickMill Group, said: "Amidst this recent stream of better-than-forecast data, we’ve also heard plenty of hawkish Fed commentary.

"The majority of members have called on the Fed to continue ahead with rate hikes throughout this year including calls to hike rates above the current peak and to continue for longer than forecast. We’ve also heard arguments for a larger hike in March on the back of the jump in inflation."

With this in mine, investors will be eyeing the latest FOMC minutes, due at 1900 GMT.

On the corporate front, cyber security firm Palo Alto was likely to be in focus after it lifted its earnings guidance.

Nvidia and Etsy were also slated to report earnings.