US pre-open: Stocks slightly higher as Q3 earnings begin to roll in
Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Wednesday as market participants digested some major bank earnings and prepped for the latest monthly inflation report later in the day.
As of 1215 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.09%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were tracking 0.14% and 0.37% higher, respectively.
The Dow closed 117.72 points lower on Tuesday after the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecasts.
Wednesday's primary focus will be September's consumer inflation report, with inflation expected to have grown around 0.3% month-on-month, or 5.3% year-on-year, similar to the rapid pace seen in August.
Bank earnings will also be in focus, with JPMorgan kicking things off before the opening bell as it beat on both the top and bottom lines thanks to better-than-expected loan losses, while Blackrock beat quarterly profits as rising asset levels boosted fee income.
Delta Air Lines will also report its latest quarterly figures before the open, while Apple stock traded slightly lower after Bloomberg reported the tech giant was likely to cut iPhone production on the back of global chip shortages.
On the macro front, mortgage applications increased a modest 0.2% in the week ended 8 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with a 1.5% rise in the purchase index from 275.7 to 279.8 offsetting a 0.5% decline in the refinancing index to 3,023.0 from 3,037.6.
Still to come, September inflation rate figures were will be published at 1330 BST and minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee's latest meeting will follow at 1900 BST.