07:12 AM EST, 02/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes were pointing lower before Wednesday's open as traders await minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting.

Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq declined 0.2% each in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.1%. The majority of Asian exchanges were tracking in the red while European bourses were trending downwards midday on the continent.

The Fed is scheduled to post minutes of its January policy session at 2 pm ET, which will be assessed for clues on the central bank's monetary policy.

Wednesday's economic calendar also has the weekly mortgage applications bulletin at 7 am, followed by the housing starts and permits report for January at 8:30 am. The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations report for February is out at 10 am, along with the e-commerce retail sales report for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is slated to speak at 5 pm.

Royal Philips' (PHG) US-listed shares dropped 12% pre-bell as the Dutch health technology firm reported its latest quarterly results. Arista Networks ( ANET ) fell 4.6% even though the company delivered stronger-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. Cadence Design Systems ( CDNS ) decreased 3.5% as it issued a weak full-year earnings outlook.

Analog Devices ( ADI ) , Garmin ( GRMN ) , Trimble (TRMB), Wix.com ( WIX ) , Clean Harbors ( CLH ) , Global-E Online ( GLBE ) , Wingstop ( WING ) , Gildan Activewear ( GIL ) , Charles River Laboratories International ( CRL ) and Cinemark (CNK) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

Carvana ( CVNA ) , American Water Works ( AWK ) and Nordson ( NDSN ) post earnings after markets close.

Before the opening bell, bitcoin rose 2.4% to $96,276, West Texas Intermediate crude oil inclined 1% to $72.58 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries advanced 2.8 basis points to 4.57% and gold increased 0.3% to $2,959 an ounce.