US stock futures slip lower; Nvidia earnings, Fed minutes awaited

Investing.com -- U.S. stock index futures edged slightly lower Wednesday, slipping back from record highs, ahead of the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting as well as key earnings from market darling Nvidia.

At 05:55 ET (09:55 GMT), Dow Jones Futures slipped 33 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures fell 6 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 25 points, or 0.1%.

Wall Street indexes eked out gains on Tuesday, boosted chiefly by the technology sector, with the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite closing at record highs.

Nvidia earnings loom large

The tech sector will remain in the spotlight Wednesday as investors positioned for hotly anticipated earnings from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).

The chipmaker is widely considered as a bellwether for the rapidly-growing artificial intelligence industry, and is expected to report exponential growth in earnings on the back of demand from the industry.

Nvidia currently makes the most advanced AI chips available in the market, and is expected to have benefited substantially from major tech companies racing to further their AI plans.

Anticipation of Nvidia's earnings saw investors buy further into technology stocks.

Fed minutes due as officials stick to cautious stance on rates

The Fed minutes are due during Wednesday’s session, and come following a string of cautious signals from members of the central bank.

The Fed kept rates steady during the last meeting and warned that inflation was turning sticky. But it also still mentioned the possibility of interest rate cuts this year, a statement that markets had clung to.

Still, several Fed officials cautioned this week that the central bank needed much more confidence that inflation was easing, before it could begin trimming rates. But they also downplayed speculation that the bank would increase rates further.

Beyond the minutes, more Fed officials are also set to speak in the coming days.

Quarterly earnings continue

In the corporate sector, Nvidia’s numbers will be the highlight, but earnings are also due from the likes of Target, Analog Devices, TJX (NYSE:TJX) and Raymond James.

Elsewhere, Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) stock rose over 6% after the clothing retailer beat expectations on the top and bottom line in its latest quarter, while homebuilder Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) gained 1% after raising its full-year delivery guidance.

Crude slips after US inventories build

Crude prices fell Wednesday, retreating for the third straight session on U.S. interest rates jitters as well as an unexpected build in U.S. inventories.

By 05:55 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.8% lower at $78.05 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.7% to $82.28 per barrel.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday that U.S. oil inventories unexpectedly grew by 2.5 million barrels last week, raising some concerns over sluggish U.S. oil demand, with the upcoming Memorial Day holiday marking the traditional start of the travel-heavy summer season.

Official inventory data from the Energy Information Agency are due later in the session.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

This article first appeared in Investing.com