Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures edged lower Wednesday, as investors digested the escalating conflict in the Middle East as well as the ongoing corporate earnings season.
By 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 100 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 Futures traded 18 points, or 0.4%, lower and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 85 points, or 0.6%.
The main indices on Wall Street closed in a muted fashion on Tuesday, as investors weighed up stronger than expected retail sales as well as more earnings reports.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained just 13 points, or 0.1%, while the benchmark S&P 500 fell marginally and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3%.
Escalating Middle East tensions
Tensions in the Middle East were heightened Wednesday after a missile strike on a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of Palestinians.
Palestinian officials blamed the Israelis for the strike, while Israel said the accountability lay with Palestinian militants with a failed rocket launch. Both sides denied responsibility.
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet later Wednesday, with this gathering occurring after a planned summit between Biden, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was cancelled.
Netflix earnings due after the close
Away from geopolitical tensions, the earnings season continues in full flow Wednesday, with results from streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), after the close, the day’s highlight.
Netflix's crackdown on password-sharing is expected to have boosted subscribers by about 6 million in the third quarter, and investors will be looking to see whether this sets the stage for price increases in an attempt to further increase revenue.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is also due to report after the close of trading, while banking giant Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) leads the way before the open.
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) will also be in the spotlight after the carrier issued disappointing fourth-quarter guidance after the close Tuesday, while the transportation and logistics company JB Hunt's (NASDAQ:JBHT) profit fell slightly short of expectations in the third quarter.
Additionally, drugstore chain Rite Aid (NYSE:US90274J5618=UBSS) raised concerns about its ability to remain in business in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, days after it filed for bankruptcy protection.
Housing data due later in the session
There are also fresh economic numbers to digest, in the form of housing starts and building permits data for September.
Data released on Tuesday showed retail sales were stronger than expected in September, suggesting a reasonably healthy economy even with the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary tightening this year.
The Fed is expected to hold interest rates steady when it meets next month, and officials will be weighing the data to help decide its next steps in monetary policy.
Oil soars after Gaza hospital blast
Oil prices soared Wednesday after the deadly blast at a Gaza hospital renewed concerns that a spillover of the Israel-Hamas conflict could disrupt crude supplies in the oil-rich region.
By 07:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 2.8% higher at $87.81 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 2.6% to $92.25 a barrel.
The crude market had received a boost late Tuesday after data from the American Petroleum Institute indicated that U.S. inventories fell a hefty 4.4 million barrels in the week to October 13, reducing worries about a reduction in demand in the world’s largest consumer.
Official data from the Energy Information Administration is due later in the session, for confirmation.
(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)