Futures Take a Breather After Heavy Selloff

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U.S. stock-index futures were little changed as oil prices rallied with traders awaiting the latest news on Syria and a round of economic data.

Today's Markets

As of 8:14 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 5 points to 14763, S&P 500 futures gained 0.5 point to 1629 and Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 2.5 points to 3062.

The broad S&P 500 took the worst beating since June on Tuesday as worries swelled over Syria. While U.S. equities were stable in early trade, the concerns could be seen in oil markets.

The benchmark U.S. crude contract jumped $1.30, or 1.3%, to $110.42 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline rallied 1.2% to $3.07 a gallon. In metals, gold rose $4.10, or 0.29%, to $1,424 a troy ounce.

On the economic front, traders will get a report on the U.S. housing market. Signed contracts to buy previously-owned homes are forecast to have fallen by 0.5% in July from June. The metric is seen as a leading indicator since it gauges sales before they are officially on the books.

Elsewhere, regulators were preparing to fine J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) $80 million for dealings with retail customers, according to a report by The New York Times.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 dipped 0.65% to 2731, the English FTSE 100 fell 0.55% to 6405 and the German DAX dropped 1.4% to 8125.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 sold off by 1.5% to 13338 and the Chinese Hang Seng plummeted 1.6% to 21525.