US open: Dow aims for 24,000-point mark, but Nasdaq comes under selling pressure
Wall Street has begun the session on a mixed note, albeit with the Dow on track to hit another record as it edges towards the 24,000 mark.
At 1508 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures was up by 0.36% or 88.40 points higher at 23,926.44, with the S&P 500 adding 0.01% or 0.62 points to 2,627.41 but the Nasdaq Composite 1.07% lower at 6,837.62.
During the previous session, all the main indices notched all-time closing highs after the Senate Budget Committee approved the chamber's proposed tax reform plans, bringing it closer to a floor vote.
Konstantinos Anthis at ADS Securities said: "The major theme right now is nothing other than the tax reform bill and President Trump's efforts to pass it through the Senate. Progress has been slow but yesterday the Budget committee voted to send the bill to the floor for a vote probably this Thursday and the stakes are high on whether it will be approved.
"Should the Senate approve the bill it will be considered a major victory for President Trump and even though it's not the same piece of legislation Trump initially promised it should be received in a positive manner by dollar traders."
Meanhile, Wednesday's spate of economic indicators was upbeat, with the Commerce marking up its reading for third quarter GDP to 3.3% after revisiting its preliminary estimate of 3.0%.
Later in the day, the National Association of Realtors reported a 3.5% surge in its pending home sales index for October (consensus: 1.1%).
On the corporate front, shares in software company Autodesk tumbled after it announced a restructuring plan alongside its fiscal third quarter earnings involving a 13% reduction in its headcount.
The company's stock was 15% lower after having hit a 52-week high just the day before.
Elsewhere, Regal Entertainment was in the black after UK cinema chain Cineworld confirmed it is in talks to make a $3.07bn offer for the US chain.
Shares of Tiffany&Co. were on the back foot after the luxury jeweller posted a slightly smaller than forecast 1% rise in same store sales for the latest three-month stretch.
Marvell Technology was edging lower despite delivering better-than-expected quarterly numbers overnight.
Elsewhere, ReTo Ec-Solutions priced its initial public offering at $5 a share.
Wal Mart got a small boost as analysts at RBC lifted their target price on the discount retailer's stock from $92 to $96.
In commodity markets, oil prices fell slightly after figures from the American Petroleum Institute showed US crude supplies rose by 1.8m barrel in the week ended 24 November, versus forecasts for a drawdown of 3.2m barrels.