Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a steady open on Wednesday, as Tuesday's upbeat U.S. economic reports did little to support market sentiment and investors awaited upcoming data on U.S. economic growth.
Ahead of the open, the Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.03% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.02% uptick.
Optimism over the U.S. economic recovery grew stronger after data on Tuesday showed that consumer confidence and new homes sales both rose to six year highs.
The CB consumer confidence index jumped to 85.2 in June from 83.0 last month. It was the highest reading since January 2008.
Another report showed that the number of new home sales also rose to a six-year high, surging 18.6% in May to an annual rate of 504,000. It was the highest level since May 2008 and the largest monthly increase since January 1992.
Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) was expected to be active after the hotel chain said expansion into new Africa markets and a global economic recovery may boost revenue by as much as 10% this year.
In the tech sector, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) declined 0.88% as the company was expected to introduce at least one small set-top box similar tp products like Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s Fire TV, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s Apple TV, during its developer conference later in the day.
Monsanto (NYSE:MON), due to report earnings later in the day, saw shares slide 0.36% in extended trade a day after the company said it is considering a takeover bid for Swiss agricultural firm Syngenta (SIX:SYNN).
Elsewhere, Boeing (NYSE:BA) jumped 1.61% pre-marlek after U.S. accident investigators said the aircraft manufacturer's 777 complex automation system should be reviewed and improved, adding that it contributed to pilot confusion on the Asiana Airlines flight that crashed last year.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) and Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY), scheduled to release quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 declined 0.49%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.63%, Germany's DAX slid 0.37%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 0.61%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.06%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.71%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on durable goods orders, as well as revised data on first quarter growth.