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Google-parent Alphabet down on potential DOJ action

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Boeing ( BA ) falls after talks with union halted

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Fed minutes due at 2:00 p.m. ET

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Futures down: Dow 0.01%, S&P 500 0.05%, Nasdaq 0.18%

(Updated at 8:14 a.m. ET/1214 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Pranav Kashyap

Oct 9 (Reuters) -

Futures tracking the Dow and the S&P 500 pointed to a steady

open on Wednesday as investors awaited the minutes of the

Federal Reserve's latest meeting, while Alphabet shares slipped

after the U.S. said it was considering breaking up Google.

Shares of Alphabet were down 0.6% in premarket

trading after the U.S. Department of Justice said it may ask a

judge to force Google to divest parts of its business, including

the Chrome internet browser and Android operating system, to

curtail its search monopoly.

Futures tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lagged

futures for the other two main U.S. indexes.

"(This is) just a reflection of how super-sized Big Tech has

become. Any uncertainty there will feature into the rest of the

market," said Ben Laidler, head of equity strategy at Bradesco

BBI.

Dow E-minis were down 6 points, or 0.01%, S&P

500 E-minis were down 3 points, or 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100

E-minis were down 36.25 points, or 0.18%.

Indexes closed higher on Tuesday after rebounding from

Monday's selloff, with technology stocks leading the charge as

U.S. Treasury yields eased.

Trading has been choppy this week, with investors

adjusting their rate-cut expectations, seeking new catalysts for

a clearer market direction. Key inflation data on Thursday and

the upcoming third-quarter corporate earnings season are now in

focus.

Minutes from the Fed's September meeting, when policymakers

kicked off monetary policy easing with a 50-basis-point rate

cut, are due at 2:00 p.m. ET.

"We expect the FOMC minutes and tomorrow's CPI to be

reassuring and calm these market nerves around the ability of

the Fed to keep cutting interest rates," Laidler said.

"Anything in line with consensus will calm markets,

which have been second guessing how much the Fed can cut."

Commentary from a number of Fed officials including Philip

Jefferson, Thomas Barkin, Raphael Bostic and Mary Daly are also

expected through the day.

Investors are overwhelmingly pricing in a 25-basis-point

reduction in borrowing costs at the Fed's November meeting, with

some now seeing a slight chance the central bank will keep rates

on hold, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Prior to the release of strong employment data last week,

markets were leaning towards an outsized 50-bps cut in November.

Among single stocks, Boeing ( BA ) lost 1.6% after talks

between the company and its key manufacturing union broke down,

sending a strike into its fourth week, with no sign of

resolution.

Shares of Arcadium Lithium ( ARLTF ) soared 30.7% after Rio

Tinto said it would acquire the miner for $6.7 billion.

Rio Tinto's U.S.-listing slipped 1.1%.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms dropped for a second

day, tracking a slide in domestic stocks as investors continued

to question if China would announce new stimulus measures.

Alibaba Group fell 3.2%, PDD Holdings ( PDD ) lost

3.7% and JD.Com dropped 4.6%. The iShares MSCI China

exchange-traded fund lost 3.4%.

Additionally, investors were keeping a watch on the impact

from Category 5 Hurricane Milton as well as the escalating

conflict in the Middle East.