US pre-open: Futures point to losses despite positive vaccine headlines
Wall Street futures had stocks opening in the red ahead of the bell on Wednesday after a solid start to the month in the previous session.
As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.35%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.20% and 0.24% weaker, respectively.
The Dow closed 185.28 points higher on Tuesday after lawmakers proposed a $908.0bn stimulus plan only to see it shot down by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell later in the day.
In focus prior to the bell was news that the UK had approved Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine candidate for emergency use, signalling yet another major step in the battle against the coronavirus.
However, despite the vaccine update, a warning from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell that America's economic outlook was "extremely uncertain" weighed on sentiment in the early hours of the morning.
SpreadEx's Connor Campbell said: "Despite the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine receiving emergency use authorisation in the UK, the markets were at a low ebb on Wednesday, unable to build on Tuesday's month-opening gains.
"Failing to close above 30,000 yesterday evening, instead finishing at 29,823, the Dow Jones is set to retreat this afternoon, the futures pencilling in a 130 point fall. It may take FDA approval of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to get the Dow to spend more than a few hours at a time the right side of 30,000."
On the macro front, mortgage applications to purchase a home jumped 9% week-on-week or 28% year-on-year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Still to come, ADP employment figures for November will be published at 1315 GMT, while the ISM's New York Index will follow at 1400 GMT and the central bank's Beige Book will be released at 1900 GMT.
A sea of Federal Reserve heads will also speak throughout the course of the day, starting with Randal Quarles and John C Williams at 1400 GMT.
Chairman Jerome Powell will again testify before Congress at 1500 GMT.
No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Wednesday.