U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower

By Saumya Vaishampayan 

U.S. stock futures inched lower Wednesday, pointing to a third straight day of losses for equities.

S&P 500 futures lost two points, or 0.1%, to 2083. E-mini Dow futures shed 28 points, or 0.2%, to 17921, while e-mini Nasdaq-100 futures were nearly flat at 4429.

European stocks also fell, adding to the negative tone. Germany's DAX declined 0.7% and France's CAC 40 lost 0.8%.

U.S. stocks ended lower Tuesday, with the Dow falling 0.6% to 18011.14. The S&P lost 0.6% to 2091.50.

Action in the stock market has quieted down this week, with Tuesday marking the second-lowest volume day of 2015. Monday was the third-slowest day. With the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting last week and ahead of first-quarter earnings season, investors say that many of the immediate drivers of action have disappeared. That has left stocks trading in a range, just below all-time highs.

The Dow is 1.5% below its record of 18288.63, while the S&P 500 is 1.2% off its closing high of 2117.39, through Tuesday's close. The Nasdaq is 1.1% away from its all-time high of 5048.62.

The Fed has emphasized its policy remains data dependent. And as the debate at the Fed picks up over when to begin raising short-term rates, investors will be more sensitive to data releases, said Erik Wytenus, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. "The market is going to be hemming and hawing over each piece of data," said Mr. Wytenus.

On Wednesday, a report on durable goods orders for February is expected to show a 0.2% rise, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

Moves were muted in commodity markets. Crude-oil futures slipped 0.1% to $47.47 a barrel. Gold futures added 0.3% to $1194.60 an ounce.

Treasury prices rose, pushing the 10-year yield down to 1.863% from 1.878% on Tuesday.

In corporate news, Kraft Foods Group Inc. and H.J. Heinz Co. have agreed to merge. The combined company will be called The Kraft Heinz Co. and would be the world's fifth-largest food and beverage company. Kraft shares surged 34% in premarket trading.

Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at [e-mail]

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