U.S. stock index futures were lower Wednesday morning after the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump..
At around 05:00 a.m. ET, Dow futures fell 56 points, indicating a negative open of more than 27 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both marginally lower.
The moves in pre-market trade come after the U.S. House of Representatives decided to officially start an impeachment inquiry into Trump. It is yet unclear how much impact there will be on the President, given that an impeachment process has to ultimately be approved by the Senate and the chamber is dominated by Republicans.
Only three American presidents before Trump have faced serious impeachment proceedings, and Congress has never booted one from the White House. Even if Democrats eventually impeach Trump, the Republican-held Senate may never find him guilty and remove him from office.
In the meantime, investors are also monitoring developments on the trade front. Speaking in New York, Tuesday, President Trump said he will not accept a "bad" trade deal with China. Trump also argued the World Trade Organization needs "drastic change" to deal with malpractices from China and other countries.
On the data front, there will be new homes sales data at 10:00 a.m. ET.
In corporate news, KB Home will be reporting after the bell.
Several Fed members will also be making speeches throughout the day, including Chicago Fed President Charles Evans at 9:00 a.m. ET.
CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this article.