Stock futures are little changed as investors weigh Middle East tensions and await Fed minutes: Live updates

Stock futures were little changed early Wednesday as investors weighed rising tensions in the Middle East and surging oil prices. They also looked ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53 points. S&P 500 futures was flat and Nasdaq 100 futures inched 0.3% higher.

The U.S. started a “series of powerful strikes” against Iran on Tuesday evening, retaliating for attacks against three commercial vessels traveling in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said. Earlier, the Treasury Department revoked a license that permitted Iran to sell its oil around the world in light of the attacks in the Hormuz Strait.

West Texas Intermediate futures for August delivery rose 2.1% to $71.87 per barrel in Asia trading. Futures for International benchmark Brent crude for September delivery jumped 1.9% to $75.53 per barrel.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Wednesday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.44%, while the Topix declined 0.24%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.19%, and the small-cap Kosdaq dropped nearly 4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index extended early gains to rise 2.38% higher Wednesday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.61%.

In the U.S. in Tuesday’s regular session, investors rotated out of artificial intelligence-linked stocks while rising oil prices weighed on sentiment. The 30-stock Dow fell more than 100 points after earlier touching a fresh intraday record. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2% as chipmakers led the declines.

Investors’ attention now turns to the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting, due at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday. The release is expected to provide more insight into Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s first policy meeting, where officials left interest rates unchanged while signaling that additional rate hikes could be warranted if inflation pressures persist.

“The FOMC minutes will be [a] wildcard simply because Warsh was so opaque at the most recent press conference,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note. “Normally, [Jerome] Powell provided fairly comprehensive accounting of the meeting discussion, but that didn’t happen with Warsh, so the minutes, which are likely to be hawkish in tone, could contain some surprises.” 

— CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed reporting.