Stock futures slipped Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's Wednesday meeting.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials subsided 114 points, or 0.3%, early Wednesday to 34,042.
Futures for the S&P 500 retreated seven points, or 0.2%, to 4,083.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite forged higher 4.75 points to 12,157.
The Fed at 2 p.m. ET will announce how much it is increasing interest rates in its latest effort to tame high inflation. Markets are expecting a 25 basis point, or 0.25 percentage point, bump from the central bank. On Tuesday, the employment cost index, a measure of wage increases, showed compensation rose 1% in the fourth quarter, less than the 1.1% estimate by Dow Jones.
Still, traders may be getting ahead of themselves in expecting a more dovish tone from the Fed, or looking for signs that a pause in hikes or even a pivot is coming soon.
Earnings season continues as well. Peloton and Meta Platforms are scheduled to report quarterly results on Wednesday.
Snap shares dropped more than 15% after the social media company posted a disappointing quarterly revenue. The company's average revenue per user, a key metric for Snap, also came in below expectations. Meanwhile, AMD reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue but warned of a 10% top-line decline in the first quarter.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index eked higher 0.1%, while in Hong Kong acquired 1.1%.
Oil prices grabbed 55 cents to $79.42 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices advanced $1.50 to $1,946.80 U.S. an ounce.