Investing.com - U.S. stock markets pointed to a muted open on Wednesday, as investors awaited a second day of testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Thursday's highly-anticipated U.K. referendum on its EU membership.
The blue-chip Dow futures inched up 17 points, or 0.1%, by 10:51GMT, or 6:51AM ET, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 2 points, or 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures added 7 points, or 0.15%.
Fed Chair Yellen will appear before politicians for a second day Wednesday, testifying in front of the House Committee on Financial Services at 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
She will repeat the same semi-annual testimony from a day earlier, in which she warned of the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook but said the Fed still planned to raise rates gradually, to the House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Services.
However, market participants will watch the question and answer period after the speech to see if Yellen gives any further indications on the future path of monetary policy.
According to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool, market players are pricing in a 12% chance for a rate hike in July.
In what had been a data light week, traders will gauge the pulse of the U.S. real estate market with the April housing price index at 13:00GMT, or 9:00AM ET, and May existing home sales at 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
Meanwhile, investors looked ahead to Thursday’s historic referendum on whether Britain will choose to remain in the European Union.
Politicians on both sides of the debate will be making their last arguments today ahead of polling stations opening tomorrow at 6:00GMT, or 7:00AM London time. Polls will close at 21:00GMT, or 10:00PM in London. The result will likely be projected early Friday, before the official vote count is announced, based on preliminary vote counts and exit polling.
GBP/USD was last at 1.4675, holding below Monday’s six-month highs of 1.4782, as polls showed that the race between the Leave and Remain campaigns remains tight.
Among active pre-market movers, SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY) shares spiked 16%, while Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares dropped more than 10% after saying it would bid $2.8 billion to buy the solar energy company. SolarCity's controlling shareholder, Elon Musk, is also the CEO of electric car company Tesla.
Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) lost nearly 6% after the cloud and software maker provided guidance that fell short of market expectations, despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings after Tuesday’s closing bell.
In Europe, stocks flipped between gains and losses, as caution set in during the last day of trading before the U.K. votes on whether to break ties with the European Union.
Earlier, shares in Japan struggled while most Asian markets made small gains as investors were reluctant to make big trades ahead of the U.K.’s vote on whether to leave the European Union.
Elsewhere, oil prices traded close to a two-week high amid speculation weekly supply data due later in the session will show U.S. crude inventories fell at a faster pace than expected last week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 14:30GMT, or 10:30AM ET, amid expectations for a drop of 1.7 million barrels. After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. oil inventories fell by 5.2 million barrels in the week ended June 17.