Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wednesday morning, as traders kept an eye on fresh political developments in the U.S. after President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey.
The blue-chip Dow futures lost 51 points, or around 0.3%, by 6:50AM ET (10:50GMT), the S&P 500 futures dipped 5 points, or 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell 3 points, less than 0.1%.
U.S. equities closed mostly lower on Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 edging down marginally, while the Nasdaq composite ended at a record-high.
Market players were on edge after Trump fired Comey on Tuesday evening in a move that shocked Washington, over his handling of an election-year email scandal involving then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Democrats immediately accused Trump of having political motives, as Comey had been leading the FBI's investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.
Market analysts warned that Comey's firing could create a sideshow that may delay the Trump Administration's plans on tax reform and infrastructure spending.
Besides political developments, traders will keep an eye out for fresh earnings from the likes of Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFM), 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX), Time (NYSE:TIME) and Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) all due ahead of the opening bell.
After markets close, Snap (NYSE:SNAP) is set to report its first earnings since its IPO earlier this year.
In data news, Wednesday's calendar is light, with import prices at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT) expected to garner most of the attention.
Among active pre-market movers, Disney (NYSE:DIS) shares lost around 3% after the media company reported a revenue miss and disappointing operating income for its cable network business after Tuesday's closing bell.
Online travel broker Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) lost more than 3% in the wake of a weak second-quarter outlook provided in after hours Tuesday.
Yelp (NYSE:YELP) shares tanked almost 30% after the company reported weak full-year and second-quarter guidance.
Fossil Group (NASDAQ:FOSL) plunged more than 20% after the designer company reported a greater-than-expected loss and miss on revenue for the current quarter.
On the upside, shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) surged around 11% after the semiconductor chip company posted upbeat earnings and revenue figures for its first quarter. The company also reported strong second-quarter revenue guidance.
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) saw shares spike almost 18% on reports that the teen apparel retailer is working with an investment bank to field takeover interest from other retailers.
In other markets, European stocks edged lower, in a broad-based pullback that dragged the market’s benchmark off a 21-month high.
Earlier, in Asia, markets edged higher for a third consecutive day as investors focused on strong corporate earnings.
Elsewhere, oil prices posted solid gains as investors looked ahead to the Energy Department's weekly supply report at 10:30AM ET.