U.S. Stock Futures Nearly Unchanged After Previous Session's Equity Weakness

US stock futures remained almost flat during early morning sessions on Wednesday, following equity weakness in the previous trading session. Dow futures had just dipped 21 points. In comparison, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures traded along the flatline as well.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 397 points on Tuesday, or 1.5 percent, breaking a two-day winning surge. A 4.8 percent decline in Boeing brought down the Dow. The S&P 500 also registered a loss, slipping 1.1 percent to halt a five-day rally.

Shares of airline companies, cruise lines and lodging firms fell in regular sessions and held largely lower overnight, as a continuing rise in COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations threatened the recovery of these industries' companies domestically.

United Airlines cautioned in a securities filing Tuesday that it expects demand to remain depressed until a generally accepted vaccine becomes available. The company reported that year-over-year sales for the industry dropped by 78 percent as of July 2.

The overnight activity followed a successful day on Wall Street, which saw the Dow leap over 450 points. The S&P 500 for the fifth consecutive successful session added 1.5 percent on Monday, while the Nasdaq rose 2.2 percent to reach an all-time high.

The sector has managed to shake off a steady increase in cases of coronavirus around the US. In 23 states, including Texas, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 increased by 5 percent or more on Sunday, recording a total of over 8,000 hospitalizations.

On Monday California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered six additional counties to shut down their indoor businesses. More than 2.93 million cases of the disease have been confirmed in the US along with at least 130,306 fatalities, data from the Johns Hopkins University showed.

Sentiment was lifted when the federal government awarded biotech group Novavax a $1.6 billion deal to produce a coronavirus vaccine, the largest amount to date granted under the White House's Operation Warp Speed. Shares of Novavax (NVAX) remained steady during extended trading on Tuesday, after closing higher by 31 percent.

Meanwhile, in Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.4 percent. In Europe, London's FTSE dropped 1.2 percent, Germany's DAX shed 1.1 percent and France's CAC was down 0.9 percent.