U.S. futures edge lower, eyes on Fed minutes; Dow Jones down 0.04%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting, expected later in the day.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.04% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.14% slip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.12% fall.

Investors trimmed back expectations that the Fed will soon start to unwind stimulus measures ahead of the central bank’s June meeting minutes and a closely watched speech by Ben Bernanke later Wednesday.

Meanwhile, market sentiment found some support after weak Chinese trade data for June prompted speculation over the possibility of further monetary easing by Beijing.

Official data earlier showed that Chinese exports fell unexpectedly last month, fuelling concerns over a slowdown in global demand. Imports were also lower, indicating that domestic demand was weakening.

FedEx was expected to remain in focus amid speculation that billionaire William Ackman would make a big investment in the company, sending shares up 0.29% in after-hour trade.

Also in company news, Health Management Associates has reportedly attracted takeover interest from Community Health Systems and other rivals about buying the hospital operator.

DirecTV and a partnership of Chernin Group and AT&T were said to have each offered about USD1 billion for online video service Hulu LLC.

In the tech sector, Google was likely to be active amid reports the company's chromebooks snagged 20% to 25% of the U.S. market for laptops that cost less than USD300 in the past eight months.

Other stocks expected to be in focus included Family Dollar, Fastenal and Yum Brands, due to report second quarter earnings later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.57%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.53%, Germany's DAX slid 0.33%, while Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.32%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.07%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.39%.