Stock index futures pointed to a weaker market open on Wednesday, with Texas Instruments in focus after the chipmaker left its outlook steady.

Shares in Texas are likely to fall as the company barely changed its current-quarter revenue and earnings range forecasts in a break with recent technology industry optimism. Its shares fell more than 2 percent in extended trade on Tuesday.

Alcoa Inc, the world's top aluminum maker, might also be eyed as it is selling its entire stake in Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) for up to US$2 billion, reaping a potential profit on its investment of as much as US$1.9 billion.

By 0955 GMT, S&P, Dow and Nasdaq futures were all down 0.3 percent.

U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, boosted by confidence the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, another round of upbeat outlooks from technology companies, and robust sales from McDonald's Corp.

Financial markets have been in turmoil since mid-August as concerns about a fallout from U.S. subprime mortgages triggered a sell-off in risky assets and a credit squeeze.

Friday's shock fall in U.S. monthly payrolls sparked talk of a potential recessions in the world's biggest economy.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a speech in Berlin, said nothing to change hopes for an interest-rate cut at the Fed's policy meeting on September 18 and stuck to the scheduled topic of global imbalances.

A weakening U.S. economy is not good for corporate profits and thus not good for the stock market in general, Francois Moute, portfolio manager of the U.S. Opportunity Fund at ABN AMRO Asset Management said in a note.

As a result, we favor U.S. companies in industries that benefit from non-domestic growth, such as growth in Asia, and then mainly in energy, materials and infrastructure, he said.

On Wednesday, Tokyo stocks and the yen came under pressure after Japan's embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe abruptly resigned, fanning political uncertainty.

The dollar hit a record low against the euro, pressured by expectations for a cut in U.S. interest rates next week, while European stocks drifted lower.

The euro rose as high as $1.3878 according to Reuters data, the highest since the launch of the single European currency in 1999. It last traded at $1.3861, up 0.2 percent on the day.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed 1.4 percent higher at 13,308.4, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.4 percent to 1,471.5 and the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.5 percent to 2,597.5.

Ben Bernanke Investment U.S.