Investing.com - Wall Street futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wednesday as investors remained wary of lingering geopolitical risks, dampening risk appetite.
The blue-chip Dow futures ticked down 7 points by 06:55 ET (10:55 GMT), the S&P 500 futures dipped 2.5 points while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures edged down 3.13 points.
The three major indices closed with small losses on Tuesday, having recovered from sharp declines in earlier trade.
Market sentiment continued to be dominated by concerns over U.S. military action against Syria and North Korea, which spurred investors to move money into assets perceived as less risky.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for a peaceful resolution of escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula during a call with U.S President Donald Trump.
Tensions continued to mount amid fears that North Korea could soon conduct fresh nuclear tests or missile launches.
Trump, who has urged China to do more to rein in North Korea, has said the U.S. is prepared to take action against North Korea, with or without Beijing’s help.
At the same time, tensions between the U.S. and Russia continued to simmer following last week's U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base.
Airline stocks remained in focus, with the second largest U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) due to release its first quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell.
Shares in United Continental Holdings (NYSE:UAL) looked likely to remain under pressure after falling 1.1% on Tuesday amid widespread criticism after a passenger was forcibly removed from a plane on Sunday.
Meanwhile, shares in Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) jumped 2.74% in pre-market trade after Bloomberg reported that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) considered taking over the supermarket chain last year, but nothing came of it at the time.