Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a subdued open on Wednesday as holiday-thinned trading continued and investors looked ahead to economic data.
The blue-chip Dow futures were unchanged by 7:15AM ET (12:15GMT), the S&P 500 futures edged forward 2 points, or 0.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 2 points, or 0.03%
The flat reading was a continuation of the trend in the holiday season with the focus for Wednesday the Conference Board’s consumer confidence for December, released at 10:00AM ET (15:00GMT), Wednesday. The data is expected to slip slightly from November’s reading but still remain close to a 17-year high.
Traders will also keep an eye on November pending home sales out at the same time. Consensus is looking for 0.4% decline with a lack of supply at high prices expected to be the major obstacle for would-be home buyers.
Ahead of the releases, the dollar was moving lower against other major currencies on Wednesday. At 7:16AM ET (12:16GMT), the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.25% at 92.61.
On the company front, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) remained in focus Wednesday on reports that the tech firm was facing eight separate lawsuits amid accusations that it slowed down aging iPhones to compensate for poor battery performance. Apple led the Dow lower a day earlier of reports of weak demand for its new iPhone X model.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices headed south on Wednesday as investors took profit after an attack on Libyan oil pipeline a day earlier spurred solid gains.
Later on Wednesday, traders will focus on U.S. inventory data with the American Petroleum Institute scheduled to produce its stockpiles, followed by the official U.S. government data on Thursday, amid expectations for a draw of about 3.9 million barrels.
The reports are released one day later than normal due to the Christmas holiday.
Market participants will continue to keep a close eye on stockpiles as they speculate over whether increasing U.S. shale production will offset OPEC's efforts to curb output in 2018.
U.S. crude futures fell 0.77% to $59.51 by 7:18AM ET (12:18GMT), while Brent oil traded down 1.26% to $65.62.