Wall Street looked to be under continued pressure on Wednesday, as the market rout continued in Asian and European stock markets. U.S. stock futures were lower in early trading.
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The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)'s meeting in September will be the main point of interest on Wall Street, and are out at 2 p.m. ET. They come after a global risk sell-off on Tuesday that saw the fall 1.5 percent to clock up its sixth worst day of the year.
"The market may well have got ahead of itself following September's meeting that saw the "dots" point to a more hawkish Federal Reserve and suggestions that rate hikes might come sooner and be more frequent than was previously thought," said Angus Campbell, a senior analyst at FxPro, in a note on Wednesday.
Also, Wednesday will see Alcoa unofficially kicking off third-quarter earnings season, with numbers out after Wall Street closes.
"We think company analyst estimates have not fully adjusted to a stronger U.S. dollar and weaker international economic conditions," said Barclays equity strategist Jonathan Glionna in a note.
"We expect fewer companies to beat revenue estimates, although many should still exceed earnings per share (EPS) estimates."
Stocks to watch on Wednesday include Yum Brands, which declined more than 1 percent in extended-hours trade after reporting earnings and revenue that narrowly missed expectations.
GT Advanced Technologies, Apple's sapphire substrate producer, gained nearly 5 percent in after-hours trade. This built on Tuesday's recovery, after shares slid on Monday on reports that it had filed for bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, Rubicon Technology, a rival of GT Advanced Technologies, fell more than 1 percent in extended-hours trade on Tuesday.