Investors are continuing to search for direction after two days of relatively flat trading.
Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 10, or 0.1 percent, to 10,574. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.20, or 0.1 percent, to 1,141.70, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 4.25, or 0.2 percent, to 1,905.50.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 1.23 point to 5,601.07 while Germany's DAX rose 8.72 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,894.61. The CAC-40 in France was 5.78 points, or 0.2 percent, higher at 3,915.79.
Earlier news that Chinese exports soared nearly 46 percent in February from a year earlier did little to prompt any sustained buying in the Asian session. Shanghai's main stock market actually ended 0.7 percent lower at 3,048.93.
Most interest Wednesday centered on Britain after Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed that the annual budget statement will be on March 24, meaning that it's even more likely that the British general election will be on May 6 - election campaigns usually last a month or so in Britain.
In the U.S., the Commerce Department is expected to report businesses added to inventories in January in response to strong gains in sales. Inventories at the wholesale level likely rose by 0.2 percent in January, according to economists polled by Thomson Reuters. The report is due out at 10 a.m. EST.
Oil prices fell slightly, with benchmark crude for April delivery down 16 cents at $81.33 (U.S.) a barrel. The contract lost 38 cents overnight.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $3.80 to $1,126.10 an ounce.