U.S. stock futures were edging down ahead of a wave of economic data, including gross domestic product and consumer spending, and the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent meeting.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% and futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%. Changes in equity futures don't necessarily predict movements after the opening bell.

European stocks climbed Wednesday after a four-day losing streak. The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.4% in morning trade. Healthcare and consumer staples sectors led gains while the consumer discretionary sector lost ground.

UCB jumped 2.5% and Britvic rose 2.3%.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.3%. Other stock indexes in Europe also mostly climbed as France's CAC 40 gained 0.4%, the U.K.'s FTSE 250 rose 0.1% and Germany's DAX added 0.1%.

The Swiss franc, the euro and the British pound traded flat against the U.S. dollar.

In commodities, Brent crude was up 0.2% to $81.48 a barrel. Gold also gained 0.5% to $1,793.20 a troy ounce.

The yield on German 10-year bunds declined to minus 0.232% and U.K. 10-year gilts yields declined to 0.984%. 10-year U.S. Treasury yields were down to 1.648% from 1.665%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Stocks in Asia were mixed as Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.6% and China's benchmark Shanghai Composite added 0.1%, whereas Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.6%.

-- An artificial-intelligence tool was used in creating this article.