Wall Street is seen opening steady on Wednesday, holding gains made the previous session after a soothing message about interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve, while the retail sector comes under scrutiny.
The Fed on Tuesday left interest rates at their 45-year lows, as expected, and gave investors some much-welcomed clarity on the outlook for monetary policy by saying rates could remain low for a considerable time.
U.S. stocks rallied after the statement and closed on their highs as investors bet a sustained period of low interest rates will stoke an economic recovery.
By 0912 GMT, U.S. equity index futures pointed to virtually flat openings for the major indices.
Insights into the mood of the U.S. consumer will provide a focus with retail sales data for July due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) the main feature.
"Retail sales will highly likely set the tone. The consumer has been holding up well despite the economic downturn and traders are constantly looking at this report for reassurance to the bull market argument," said Tom Hougaard at City Index.
Retail sales are forecast to rise by 0.9 percent for the month compared with a gain of 0.5 percent seen in June. U.S. business inventories in June will follow at 1400 GMT.
A further pointer to the mood of the U.S. consumer will come with the second-quarter results of retailing behemoth Wal-Mart WMT.N .
Analysts expect earnings per share of 51 cents compared with 46 cents in the same period a year earlier.
Chip stocks such as ASML ASML.O ASML.AS are also likely to be a key feature following positive comments on the outlook from Applied Materials AMAT.O , the world's largest maker of microchip production tools, after Tuesday's close.
"IT spending is starting to trend up again after being down for such a long period of time," Chief Executive Michael Splinter told Reuters.
The firm also said it had swung to a quarterly loss due to a charge for job cuts, facility closures and inventory write-downs and chip makers' hesitance to expand factories.
Its shares slipped in after hours trade.
Shares in Interpublic Group IPG.N may come under pressure after the advertising company posted a quarterly loss and retreated from its full-year earnings forecast as it tries to turn itself around in a soft ad market.
Its shares fell six percent in extended hours trading to $12.9 on Instinet from a close of $13.7.
Drug maker Pfizer PFE.N could also come under pressure after European rival AstraZeneca AZN.L won regulatory approval to launch its cholesterol-fighting drug in the United States.
Analysts expect a massive marketing battle as AstraZeneca tries to win share with its drug Crestor from Pfizer's Lipitor.
The Fed on Tuesday left interest rates at their 45-year lows, as expected, and gave investors some much-welcomed clarity on the outlook for monetary policy by saying rates could remain low for a considerable time.
U.S. stocks rallied after the statement and closed on their highs as investors bet a sustained period of low interest rates will stoke an economic recovery.
By 0912 GMT, U.S. equity index futures pointed to virtually flat openings for the major indices.
Insights into the mood of the U.S. consumer will provide a focus with retail sales data for July due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) the main feature.
"Retail sales will highly likely set the tone. The consumer has been holding up well despite the economic downturn and traders are constantly looking at this report for reassurance to the bull market argument," said Tom Hougaard at City Index.
Retail sales are forecast to rise by 0.9 percent for the month compared with a gain of 0.5 percent seen in June. U.S. business inventories in June will follow at 1400 GMT.
A further pointer to the mood of the U.S. consumer will come with the second-quarter results of retailing behemoth Wal-Mart WMT.N .
Analysts expect earnings per share of 51 cents compared with 46 cents in the same period a year earlier.
Chip stocks such as ASML ASML.O ASML.AS are also likely to be a key feature following positive comments on the outlook from Applied Materials AMAT.O , the world's largest maker of microchip production tools, after Tuesday's close.
"IT spending is starting to trend up again after being down for such a long period of time," Chief Executive Michael Splinter told Reuters.
The firm also said it had swung to a quarterly loss due to a charge for job cuts, facility closures and inventory write-downs and chip makers' hesitance to expand factories.
Its shares slipped in after hours trade.
Shares in Interpublic Group IPG.N may come under pressure after the advertising company posted a quarterly loss and retreated from its full-year earnings forecast as it tries to turn itself around in a soft ad market.
Its shares fell six percent in extended hours trading to $12.9 on Instinet from a close of $13.7.
Drug maker Pfizer PFE.N could also come under pressure after European rival AstraZeneca AZN.L won regulatory approval to launch its cholesterol-fighting drug in the United States.
Analysts expect a massive marketing battle as AstraZeneca tries to win share with its drug Crestor from Pfizer's Lipitor.
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