08:49 AM EST, 02/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were nearly flat ahead of Wednesday's opening bell as traders awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.3%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.2%, and Nasdaq was down 0.2%.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.9% at $76.51 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 1% at $72.53 per barrel.

US housing starts, released at 8:30 am ET, dropped to a 1.366 million annual rate in January from 1.515 million in the preceding month, compared with estimates compiled by Bloomberg for 1.39 million. Meanwhile, permits were little changed at 1.483 million from 1.482 million previously, compared with estimates for a drop to 1.46 million.

The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to release the minutes from its January meeting at 2 pm ET.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.3% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.1% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.8% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.6%, and Germany's DAX index dropped 1.2% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, shares of Fiverr International ( FVRR ) were 6.7% higher pre-bell after the company posted higher Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue. Global Blue ( GB ) shares were 17% higher after the company agreed to a $7.50-per-share takeover by Shift4 (FOUR).

On the losing side, Perion Network ( PERI ) shares fell 11% after the company reported lower Q4 earnings and revenue. Etsy ( ETSY ) shares dropped 7% after the company reported Q4 revenue that trailed analysts' estimates.