By Oliver Gray 

- U.S. stock futures were trading slightly higher during Wednesday’s evening deals, after major benchmark averages finished lower as market participants braced for upcoming inflation data and corporate earnings results from major financial companies.

By 7:15pm ET (11:15pm GMT) Dow Jones Futures, S&P 500 Futures and Nasdaq 100 Futures were up 0.2% apiece.

In extended deals, Duck Creek Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:DCT) lifted 8% after the company reported Q4 EPS of $0.03 versus $0.02 expected, while revenue was reported at $80.7 million versus $73.08 million expected.

Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) also fell 1.3% after the company warned that Q4 revenue and earnings would come in below analyst expectations.

Ahead in Thursday’s session, investors will be closely monitoring fresh consumer price data, while weekly jobless claims data will also be watched.

On the earnings front, Domino’s Pizza Inc (NYSE:DPZ), Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) are expected to report results.

During Wednesday’s regular trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28.3 points or 0.1% to 29,210.9, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 3,577 and the NASDAQ Composite lost 9.1 points or 0.1% to 10,417.1.

Risk sentiment soured after the latest FOMC minutes showed that policymakers were committed to hiking interest rates until inflation slows.

On the bond markets, United States 10-Year rates were at 3.902%.