Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.26 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.14 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.22 percent at 0740 GMT.

Alcoa will be in focus after posting disappointing results. The top U.S. aluminum maker blamed the economic slowdown that hurt demand and pushed metal prices lower for its net profit missing forecasts, and the firm's CEO Klaus Kleinfeld warned of weak economic conditions through the year, particularly in Europe, as confidence in the global recovery faded.

The company's stock traded in Frankfurt were down 5.9 percent.

European stocks were down 0.7 percent in morning trade, with investors booking recent lofty gains after Slovak lawmakers rejected a plan to expand the euro zone rescue fund.

The parliament of Slovakia stalled the expansion of the euro zone bailout fund, but international lenders said they were likely to grant a loan to debt-stricken Greece in November, buying time for a broader response.

Slovakia is the only country in the 17-member currency zone that has yet to approve the plan. The government of Prime Minister Iveta Radicova fell after a small party in her ruling coalition refused to back the plans.

The outgoing government still expects to be able to enact the measure as a caretaker administration by the end of this week with support from an opposition party.

European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso is due to unveil a bank recapitalization plan on Wednesday to help cope with the euro zone's debt crisis.

Investors will keep an eye on the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes from its September 20-21 meeting, to be released at 1800 GMT.

Millions of BlackBerry customers across four continents are without email, messaging and browsing service on their smartphones after a series of failures in Research In Motion's private network. Extensive delays hit Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India on Monday and the problems spread to Brazil, Chile and Argentina on Tuesday in the latest headache for the Canadian smartphone maker.

U.S. stocks took a breather on Tuesday after the best five days for the S&P 500 in more than two years as investors look to earnings for a reason to extend the market's rebound.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 16.88 points, or 0.15 percent, at 11,416.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 0.65 point, or 0.05 percent, at 1,195.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 16.98 points, or 0.66 percent, at 2,583.03.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Erica Billingham)

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