United States stock futures edged lower Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST) as investors assessed escalating Middle East tensions, rising oil prices and awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.
By 10 am AEST (12 am GMT), Dow futures were down 0.1%, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.2%.
The United States launched a "series of powerful strikes" against Iran on Tuesday evening in response to attacks on three commercial vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said.
Earlier, the U.S. Treasury Department revoked a licence allowing Iran to sell oil internationally following the attacks in the strategic shipping channel.
During Tuesday's regular trading session, investors rotated away from artificial intelligence-linked stocks, while higher oil prices added pressure to market sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% after briefly reaching a fresh intraday record, while the S&P 500 declined 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2% as semiconductor stocks led losses.
Investors will now focus on minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's June meeting, scheduled for release on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
The minutes are expected to provide further insight into Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's first policy meeting, where officials kept interest rates unchanged while indicating additional rate increases could be considered if inflation pressures remain elevated.
