Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.6 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.4 percent.

Credit ratings firm Fitch Ratings cut Portugal's sovereign rating on Wednesday to AA- from AA, with a negative outlook [ID:nWLB0770], prompting European stocks to surrender early gains and turn negative, while the euro hit 10-month lows against the dollar.

After the bell on Tuesday, MF Global shares rose more than 15 percent following the naming of former Goldman Sachs chief executive and former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine as MF Global's new chairman and CEO, while shares of Adobe Systems Inc rose more than 4 percent following its financial results.

On the macro side, the day's economic diary includes February durable goods at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), and Feb new home sales at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), while on the earnings front, results are expected from General Mills , Lennar Corp and Red Hat Inc .

LUKOIL , Russia's No.2 oil producer missed forecasts with a 23 percent drop in 2009 profit on Wednesday, ahead of an expected announcement that its large U.S. shareholder plans to halve its stake. U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips has a 20 percent stake.

Goldman Sachs has applied for a banking license in India, local media reported, citing the company's India chief executive.

U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, led by the tech, industrial and materials sectors, driving the Dow and the S&P 500 to 18-month highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 102.94 points, or 0.95 percent, to 10,888.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 8.36 points, or 0.72 percent, to 1,174.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shot up 19.84 points, or 0.83 percent, to 2,415.24.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; editing by Karen Foster)

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