U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, following recent gains, as investors braced themselves for more results from bellwethers such as Morgan Stanley , PepsiCo

, Pfizer

, Boeing and Wells Fargo .

At 5 a.m. ET, futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.6 percent, Dow Jones futures were down 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.5 percent.

After the bell on Wall Street on Tuesday Apple posted quarterly profits that beat forecasts, helped by robust sales of Macs and iPhones and higher than expected gross margins, sending its shares rising 4 percent in extended trading. Apple shares traded in Frankfurt were up 3.8 percent.

Also LG Electronics <066570.KS> reported a surge in second-quarter operating profit, boosted by strength in its mobile phone and TV businesses.

Yahoo Inc's third-quarter forecasts fell short of Wall Street expectations late on Tuesday as the Internet company announced plans to step up spending despite persistent weakness in the advertising market. Yahoo's shares traded in Frankfurt were down 2.9 percent.

Procter & Gamble Co

is in advanced talks to sell its prescription-drug business with several parties, including specialty drugmaker Warner Chilcott Ltd and private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website late Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the sources, P&G's pharmaceutical unit could be worth about $3 billion, the Journal said.

Oil slipped below $65 a barrel on Wednesday after data showing an unexpected rise in U.S. crude stocks suggested demand in the world's top energy consumer was still weak. The market is awaiting U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data later on Wednesday to see if they will confirm the American Petroleum Institute's (API) figures.

The dollar held steady against most major currencies on Wednesday, recouping losses from earlier in the session after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said U.S. interest rates would stay low for some time.

Japan's Nikkei index gained 0.7 percent to hit its highest level in more than two weeks on Wednesday, while European shares were down 0.7 percent in early trade, halting a seven-session winning run, with miners such as Rio Tinto and Xstrata and Anglo American among the biggest drags.

U.S. shares gained ground on Tuesday as strong results from Caterpillar Inc eclipsed some uneasiness about the company's outlook for the current quarter, but the gains were limited as some investors paused following the recent earnings-fueled run-up.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 67.79 points, or 0.77 percent, to 8,915.94 on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 3.45 points, or 0.36 percent, to 954.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 6.91 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,916.20 -- a closing high for the year.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

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