Investing.com - U.S. futures fell on Wednesday as investors turned risk-averse after an official impeachment inquiry was launched against President Donald Trump.
The U.S. House of Representatives decided to start the impeachment process on Tuesday, but uncertainty remains as to how much impact there will be, with the Republican-controlled Senate having to give its approval.
The impeachment move came after Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine while urging its president to investigate corruption allegations involving the son of former Vice President Joe Biden.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 29 points or 0.4% by 6:44 AM ET (10:44 GMT), while Dow futures lost 49 points or 0.2% and S&P 500 futures were down 6 points or 0.2%.
Banking stocks were down, with Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) falling 1.2%, while Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) dipped 0.5%. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) declined 0.5%, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) slipped 0.2%.
Elsewhere, Nike (NYSE:NKE) jumped 5.9% after its first-quarter revenue and profit beat estimates, helped by a 22% rise in revenue from Greater China.
On the central banking front, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans speaks at 8:00 AM ET followed by Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Fed Governor Lael Brainard at 10:00 AM ET.
In commodities, crude oil futures fell 1.4% to $56.49 a barrel. Gold futures were down 0.3% to $1,536.05 a troy ounce, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.3% to 98.208.