US pre-open: Stocks seen touch weaker as investors eye Fed, ADP report

US futures pointed to a slightly weaker open on Wall Street as investors eyed the latest rate announcement from the Federal Reserve and digested some uninspiring earnings from Apple.

At 1120 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, while Nasdaq futures were off 0.3%.

Meanwhile, oil prices were on the front foot ahead of the latest inventory data from the Energy Information Administration at 1530 BST. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.6% to $47.97 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.7% firmer at $50.82.

On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute's inventory data for the week ending 28 April showed a 4.16m barrel draw, versus expectations for a smaller draw of around 2m barrels.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: "While the Fed decision itself may not surprise anyone – with markets pricing in only a 5% chance of a rate hike this evening – the statement could offer important clues on the central banks intentions at upcoming meetings. In the absence of a press conference with Chair Janet Yellen, the statement is all we have to go off and if the Fed is aiming to raise rates again in June, it may signal its intention to do so."

"Fortunately, with markets already pricing in a June rate hike at 66%, the Fed doesn’t have to work as hard to manage expectations as it did earlier this year and so any signal may be fairly subtle. While I expect the central bank to see through the first quarter weakness in the economy, it may refrain from sending a stronger signal in order to give itself room to manoeuvre, should the data not improve between now and the June meeting."

Before the Fed announcement, investors will turn their attention to the ADP employment report at 1315 BST, which is widely seen as a precursor to Friday's non-farm payrolls. Markit's composite and services PMIs at 1445 BST will also be eyed.

In corporate news, Apple shares were lower in pre-market trade after the technology giant said late on Tuesday that it sold fewer iPhones in the second quarter compared to a year ago. The company posted a 4.6% jump in revenue to $52.9bn, which was below analysts' estimates.

Reynolds American, Time Warner, Yum Brands, Humana, Clorox and Molson Coors Brewing were among the companies slated to report before the opening bell.