Investing.com - Wall Street futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wednesday as investors awaited a revised reading on U.S. second quarter growth and data on private sector hiring as they continued to gauge the impact of Tropical Storm Harvey.
The blue-chip Dow futures added 27 points, or 0.12% by 06:45 AM ET (10:45 GMT), the S&P 500 futures rose 1.38 points, or 0.06%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 9.13 points, or 0.16%.
The gains came after Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday, recovering from early losses that came in the wake of North Korea’s missile launch over Japan.
Investors took some reassurance from U.S. President Donald Trump’s relatively measured response.
Traders shrugged off North Korea's statement on Wednesday that the launch was a first step in military action to "contain" the U.S. territory of Guam.
Investors were looking ahead to revised figures on second quarter gross domestic product and the latest private payroll numbers later Wednesday, which will be closely watched ahead of Friday’s non-farm payroll numbers.
Economists were expecting the GDP report, due out at 08:30 ET to show growth of 2.7% in the second quarter.
The ADP nonfarm payrolls report is due for publication at 08:15 ET and the consensus forecast is for 183,000 jobs to have been added in August.
In other markets, the dollar rebounded against a basket of the of the other major currencies.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.15% at 92.41, having recovered from a trough of 91.55 on Tuesday, the weakest since January 2015.
Gold prices turned lower and oil prices were also weaker as ongoing disruptions from Tropical Storm Harvey kept refineries from buying crude, weighing on demand but also prompting fears over fuel shortages.