Futures Slightly Lower In Pre-Market Action

9:15 a.m. Update: Stocks pointed to a slightly lower open ahead of Wednesday's opening bell.

Futures for the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq were all down in the pre-market.

In economic news, worker productivity grew at the fastest pace in nearly six years, while labor costs fell by the biggest margin in nine years. The Labor Department said productivity rose 6.6% in Q2. Economists expected a 6.4% gain.

Labor costs fell at an annual rate of 5.9% — the largest drop since the second quarter of 2000, and slightly above the 5.8% dip pegged by analysts. Broad-based layoffs helped spark those numbers.

Meanwhile, U.S. employers cut 298,000 jobs in August, according to ADP. That was well below the 360,000 jobs lost in July but above economists' consensus estimate of 250,000 job losses last month.

In earnings news, mining supplies manufacturer Joy Global (JOYG) topped fiscal third-quarter profit views and raised its full-year outlook.

Companies slated to report earnings results later today include Bio-Reference Laboratories (BRLI), Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) and Martek Biosciences (MATK).

8:15 a.m. Update: Futures Mixed On BP Oil News

Stock futures were mixed early Wednesday as investors absorbed BP's news of a "giant" oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.5 points and were below fair value. Dow futures were up 1 point, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 2.75 points.

BP (BP) rose more than 4% in the pre-market after the company announced the oil discovery, about 250 miles southeast of Houston. The Tiber well was drilled more than 35,000 feet deep, officials said. BP is the top producer of oil and gas in the Gulf, at around 400,000 barrels per day.

In M&A news, medical gear maker Danaher (DHR) announced plans to buy the life sciences instrumentation business from MDS for about $1.1 billion. Danaher also said it will cut 3,300 jobs along with 30 facilities as part of an ongoing restructuring program.

On the economic front, the Labor Department will release revised data on Q2 productivity and unit labor costs at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists see a rise of 6.4% in productivity and a 5.8% decline in unit labor costs, matching the previous report.

The Commerce Department will release July factory orders at 10 a.m. EDT. Economists expect an increase of 2.2%, up from a 0.4% gain in June.

At 2 p.m. EDT, the Federal Open Market Committee issues minutes from its meeting of August 11-12.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 2.4% on worries about the resurgent yen. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.8%, while the Shanghai index rose 1.2%.

European stocks were mostly down in afternoon trade. Germany's DAX fell 0.8%, Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.6% and France's CAC-40 lost 0.8%.