Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a steady open on Wednesday, as markets eyed the release of U.S. employment data later in the day amid growing concerns over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
Ahead of the open, the Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.04% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.06% rise.
Markets were jittery since U.S. data last week showing a 2.9% economic contraction in the first quarter bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold for an extended period.
Investors were also awaiting the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, due to be released one day early on Thursday ahead of the Independence Day holiday, for further indications on the strength of the economic recovery.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) was expected to be active, with shares down 0.22% in extended trade as the social media giant was being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office in the U.K. after a study showed a psychological experiment influenced what users saw in their news feeds, raising fresh privacy concerns.
Also among Internet-related companies, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) added 0.18% in late trading after Goldman Sachs upgraded the video-subscription service to "buy" from "neutral".
General Motors (NYSE:GM), up 0.16% after hours, was also likely to be in focus as customers demanding compensation for the eroded value of recalled Cobalts and Ions were scheduled to hear on Wednesday how their lawyers plan to fight for the right to sue the carmaker.
Elsewhere, GoPro plunged 5.08% pre-market after soaring over 20% on Tuesday for the sports-video maker's fourth session after its initial public offering last week.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.07%, Germany's DAX gained 0.25%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.11%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.29%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the ADP report on private sector job creation, as well as data on factory orders.