U.S. futures were poised for a lower opening Wednesday as crude oil stopped its slide. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Brent crude oil were both up about 1%, trading at $39.91 and $42.19, respectively.
Meanwhile, the European markets were all showing losses, led by the FTSE 100, which was down nearly 1%. The Asian markets finished mixed. The Shanghai Composite closed in the green, up slightly, while both the Hang Seng and Nikkei closed down by nearly 2%, respectively.
Fitbit (FIT) shares were soaring by as much as 8% in early trading after posting solid second-quarter results. The wearable device maker reported adjusted earnings of $0.12 per share on revenue of $586.5 million for the period. That beat Wall Street's estimates of $0.11 per share on revenue of $580.2 million. The company expects full-year adjusted earnings to range between $1.12 and $1.24 per share and revenue ranging from $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion.
Shares of Marathon Oil (MRO) were dropping on news that it has agreed to pay $2 billion in cash along with a unit of Enbridge (ENB) for a stake in the Bakken pipeline system. Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP) is forming a joint venture with Marathon to acquire a 49% interest in the holding company that owns 75% of the pipeline network, Bloomberg reported. Enbridge will pay $1.5 billion for its share of the deal, while Marathon said it would put forth $500 million, according to the report. The news comes ahead of Marathon's second-quarter earnings results, which are due after the market close. Analysts are projecting that the company will report a loss of $0.24 per share on revenue of $1.09 billion.
Time Warner (TWX) shares were on the rise after the company reported mixed quarterly results. The cable telecommunications company posted adjusted earnings of $1.29 per share, which topped analysts' expectations of $1.16 per share. Revenue of $6.95 billion for the period fell short of Wall Street's forecast of $7.15 billion. Time Warner expects full-year earnings to range between $5.35 to $5.45 per share. The stock has gained 17% since the beginning of the year. This comes as Time Warner announced that it will become a 10% owner of Hulu, the premium streaming TV service.
Finally, Viacom (VIAB) shares indicated a lower opening following news that top executives recently held settlement talks with founder and Chairman Emeritus Sumner Redstone's National Amusements. Under the discussed terms, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman would agree to depart the company and several board members of Viacom would eventually relinquish their posts, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal would have put an end to the litigation affecting the composition of Viacom's board but discussions broke down last week, the Journal reported. Viacom is scheduled to have a regular board meeting at its New York headquarters Wednesday.
