By Elliot Smith, CNBC–

  • Investors are waiting for signals on an easing of the protracted trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
  • Nonfarm productivity figures and unit labor costs for the third quarter are due for publication at 9:30 a.m. ET.

U.S. stock index futures were mixed Wednesday morning after the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a fresh record close on Tuesday.

At around 02:05 a.m. ET, Dow futures were down four points point and implied a negative open of more than six points. Futures on the S&P 500 were seen fractionally lower while the Nasdaq was seen slightly higher.

The Dow inched 0.1% higher to close at another new record on Tuesday, its third consecutive day of gains.

Investors are waiting for signals on an easing of the protracted trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

The two sides are working toward a “phase one” deal, with China pushing for U.S. President Donald Trump to remove more tariffs imposed in September on around $125 billion worth of Chinese goods, according to reports.

On the data front, nonfarm productivity figures and unit labor costs for the third quarter are due for publication at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Corporate earnings season remains in focus, with FactSet data indicating that 75% of S&P 500 companies to report thus far have topped analyst expectations.

CVS Health is set to publish earnings before the bell Wednesday Wynn Resorts reporting in the afternoon. Qualcomm, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Fox Corp and Papa John’s are among those due to report after the bell.