Stock futures pointed to a mixed start on Wall Street on Wednesday morning after the previous session's steep losses. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 0.1 percent but those for the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 were up 0.1-0.2 percent.

Leaders of the Group of Eight rich nations and the major developing powers gather for a three-day summit in Italy. Alcoa kicks off the second-quarter earnings season, and is expected to report its third consecutive quarterly loss. Slumping demand for aluminum has taken a toll on the company and investors will be looking for signs that its capacity cuts will enable it to ride out the downturn.

At 7 a.m. EDT the Mortgage Bankers Association releases the Weekly Mortgage Market Index for the week ended July 3. The index read 444.8 and the refinancing index 1,482.2 in the previous week.

The Federal Reserve issues May consumer credit figures at 3 p.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast consumer credit to fall $9.5 billion versus a $15.68 billion decrease in April.

Family Dollar Stores is expected to report a higher third-quarter profit. The retailer, which sells most of its merchandise for below $10, has won over bargain-hunting shoppers amid the recession and has started to accept credit cards and food stamps.

Pepsi Bottling reports earnings for the second quarter.

Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens has called off plans to build the world's biggest wind farm in the Texas Panhandle, the Wall Street Journal said.

Shares in Amgen Inc rose 12.7 percent after the closing bell on Tuesday after its Denosumab drug succeeded in a late-stage study of breast cancer patients.

Shares in Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc fell 11.1 percent after the closing bell on Tuesday after it announced it intends to offer shares of its common stock in a public offering.

3M Co shares rose 2.8 percent to $60.38 in extended trade on Tuesday after the diversified manufacturer said it had entered into a settlement of a previously disclosed shareholder derivative lawsuit.

U.S. stocks fell to their lowest level in 10 weeks on Tuesday as talk of a second government stimulus plan heightened fears that the economy was not yet on the path to recovery and that the corporate earnings season starting this week would be weak.

The Dow <.DJI> dropped 1.94 percent to 8,163.60, the S&P 500 <.SPX> fell 1.97 percent to 881.03 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> lost 2.31 percent to 1,746.17.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Greg Mahlich)