Dow and S&P futures pointed lower overnight after a day that saw the Dow’s two-day winning streak snapped.
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Dow Jones futures were lower by 0.05%. The S&P 500 was down 0.11% and the Nasdaq Composite was up little changed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped on Wednesday with International Business Machines shares weighing on the index, while energy and industrial shares helped the broader market post modest gains.
The Dow fell 38.56 points, or 0.16%, to 24,748.07. The S&P 500 rose 2.25 points to 2,708.64. The Nasdaq Composite was up 14.14 points, or 0.19%, at 7,295.24.
IBM tumbled 7.5%, its worst day in five years, following the company’s after-hours earnings release on Tuesday. While the tech giant surpassed analysts’ first-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, its gross profit margin missed estimates.
Bank of New York Mellon, Blackstone Group, Philip Morris Intl. and others will report 1Q results ahead of the opening bell. In the afternoon we’ll hear from E*Ttrade Financial and Skechers.
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The Fed released its Beige book saying activity remained at a modest to moderate pace. Contacts in nine of the dozen Fed regional banks expressed concerns about trade tariffs.
Business owners were upset with the price rises for metals in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to place penalties on steel and aluminum imports.
On the economic calendar, investors will be a looking at weekly jobless claims and also manufacturing activity in the Mid-Atlantic region in the report from the Philadelphia Fed.
Asian markets traded higher.
China’s Shanghai Composite finished the day up 0.9%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei closed up 0.15%, a 7-week high.
In Europe, stocks opened higher.
London’s FTSE was up 0.23%. France’s CAC added 0.21% and Germany’s DAX was off 0.08%.
Leia Klingel and Matthew Rocco contributed to this article.
