5 things to know before the stock market opens Wednesday

U.S. stock futures were pointing to a modestly higher Wednesday open on Wall Street. Dow stocks Caterpillar and Boeing initially dropped in premarket trading on disappointing earnings but later recovered. The S&P 500, despite Tuesday's slide, was just 1% away from its July record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which also fell Tuesday, was still only 2% below its own record close. The Dow and S&P 500 alternated between gains and losses for eight straight sessions, although they all were higher than where they were before that streak began.

Caterpillar on Wednesday lowered its full-year outlook and posted worse-than-expected earnings and revenue in the third quarter. The heavy equipment maker's sales in the Asia-Pacific region declined on lower demand in China due to the trade war between Beijing and Washington. In earnings also out Wednesday morning, Boeing reported third-quarter profit that fell short of estimates as it grapples with a crisis with its grounded 737 Max jets. Quarterly revenue at the aircraft maker, however, came in better than analysts had expected.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee about the company's cryptocurrency plans. Zuckerberg is bound to face questions that span well beyond Facebook's involvement in libra. The Facebook co-founder and CEO, according to his prepared remarks, is expected to tell the committee that libra "will extend America's financial leadership as well as our democratic values and oversight around the world."

SoftBank has struck a deal to take control of U.S. office sharing startup WeWork. The Japanese conglomerate will provide $5 billion in new financing and up to $3 billion in a tender offer for existing shareholders. SoftBank will also speed up an existing $1.5 billion financing commitment. The deal caps off several tumultuous months for WeWork, which pulled its IPO filing and saw its CEO exit amid scrutiny from investors.

Two associates of Rudy Giuliani are set to be arraigned Wednesday. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman are accused of making illegal campaign donations while lobbying to oust the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Giuliani, who at the time was trying to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden's son, has said he knew nothing about the donations. Top Ukraine diplomat Bill Taylor testified Tuesday behind closed doors before House lawmakers conducting the Trump impeachment inquiry. Taylor said he was told a military aid package to Ukraine had been withheld by President Donald Trump pending an agreement from Ukraine to launch investigations into Trump's political rivals.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.