(By Balachander) U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a lower opening on the Wall Street as investors digested a set of mixed corporate earnings reports.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures shed 38 points to 13,872. The Nasdaq futures lost 11.75 points to 2,737.50. Standard and Poor's 500 futures slipped 4.70 points to 1,501.10.
There are no major U.S. economic data scheduled to be released for the day.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks closed sharply higher as investors weighed a set of upbeat corporate earnings reports and Dell's agreement to be taken private.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: DIS, HPQ, CVS, TWX, CMI, MRO, LBTYA, VMED, RL, ZNGA
In corporate news, Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) rose 2.51 percent in premarket after the company posted better-than-expected results for the first quarter.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) gained 2.56 percent in premarket amid reports that the PC maker is mulling a break-up of the company, among other options.
CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) added 1.12 percent in premarket after the health care company boosted its earnings forecast for 2013. CVS posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings helped by a double-digit jump in pharmacy services revenue.
Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) advanced 3.38 percent in premarket after the media and entertainment company reported a 51 percent jump in fourth-quarter earnings due to growth at the Networks and Film and TV Entertainment segments.
Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) added 2.65 percent in premarket after the maker of diesel engines reported lower quarterly earnings and revenue that topped market forecasts.
Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) shed 1.35 percent in premarket after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings that trailed Wall Street projections.
Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) jumped 6.12 percent in premarket after the apparel company issued an upbeat forecast following a jump in third-quarter profit.
Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) reported an unexpected profit for the fourth quarter amid flat revenue and sharp drop in expenses. Shares gained 3.65 percent in premarket.
Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ: VMED) shed 1.56 percent in premarket after Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ: LBTYA) agreed to acquire the communications services company for roughly $23.3 billion in cash and stock. LBTYA shares fell 2.33 percent in premarket.
Global Markets
European markets traded mixed, with Germany's DAX down 0.93 percent to trade at 7,593.19. France's CAC40 lost 0.88 percent to trade at 3,661.21. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.26 percent to trade at 6,299.90.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index rose 0.06 percent to close at 2,434.48. Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 3.77 percent to finish at 11,463.75. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.47 percent to end at 23,256.93. India's BSE Sensex ended 0.10 percent lower at 19,639.72.
Commodity & Currency Scan
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures traded 1.32 percent lower at $95.35 per barrel. Gold futures advanced 0.16 percent to $1,676.20 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro fell 0.50 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.3515, while the British pound inched up 0.02 percent to 1.5662. The dollar edged 0.03 percent lower against the Japanese yen at 93.6000.