Stock futures fell on Wednesday as growing concern about a market consolidation loomed despite another round of solid quarterly earnings.

Yahoo Inc jumped 4 percent to $17.82 in premarket trade after the Internet media company beat profit and sales expectations, as spending by advertisers showed signs of life.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co posted better-than-expected profit, aided by higher sales of its Cymbalta anti-depressant and Alimta cancer drug, and boosted its full-year forecast. Shares rose 1.6 percent to $35.80 in light trading.

We are getting a much better earnings reporting season than we've anticipated, both in the top and bottom line, said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in Boston.

The market looks like it may trade down at the open for no other reason than the fact that we have some concern about getting to a place too far, too fast, and there is not much more to it than that.

The S&P 500 has risen more than 61 percent since hitting 12-year lows in March as economic data has suggested the economy is recovering.

S&P 500 futures fell 6.2 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 56 points, while Nasdaq futures slid 10.50 points.

Altria Group Inc posted quarterly profit that beat estimates as its share of the smokeless tobacco market stabilized, while the company saw a sharp drop in cigarette shipments. The stock added 0.3 percent to $18.71.

KeyCorp posted a wider-than-expected loss on Wednesday as credit losses increased and the bank set aside more money to cover bad loans.

The latest round of expected earnings include results from Morgan Stanley , eBay Inc Amgen Inc , Boeing Co , Northrop Grumman Corp and Wells Fargo & Co .

Economic data includes the U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book on regional economic activities at 2 p.m. EDT <1600 GMT>.

European shares drifted further away from one-year highs early Wednesday, pressured by financial stocks after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King added his voice to calls for root-and-branch reforms of the sector.

U.S. stocks retreated from 12-month highs on Tuesday as disappointing housing and inflation data prompted investors to book recent gains despite strong results from bellwethers including Apple Inc and Caterpillar Inc .

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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