07:59 AM EST, 03/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were higher Wednesday as traders looked ahead to the first day of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before the US Congress and data on the labor market.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.3%, S&P 500 futures increased 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.8%.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.6% and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.8%, after data from industry group American Petroleum Institute showed a smaller-than-expected weekly increase in US crude stockpiles. US crude stockpiles rose 0.423 million barrels last week, according to API, compared with the 2.6 million-barrel weekly increase seen by forecasters.

Private payrolls based on ADP Institute's employment report, scheduled for release at 8:15 am ET, are seen coming in at a 149,000 gain for February compared with January's 107,000 increase.

Job openings based on the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey are expected at 8.8 million for January compared with December's 9.026 million.

Powell is scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee at 10 am ET for the first day of his two-day semi-annual Congressional testimony on monetary policy.