U.S. stocks were poised for a slightly higher open on Wednesday ahead of data on the housing market a day after the S&P 500 snapped a three-day winning streak.

Equities fell for the first time in four sessions and second in the past ten on Tuesday as a warning about China's growth sparked selling in energy and industrial shares, although broad selling was minimal.

While the benchmark index has steadily moved higher over the past two weeks, both gains and losses have been muted as investors weigh the possibility of a pullback against a surge higher.

Oracle advanced 2.2 percent to $30.75 in premarket trade after beating earnings estimates as new software sales came in at the high end of the company's forecast, offsetting a sharp drop in hardware revenue.

Investors will look to data at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) when the National Association of Realtors will release its existing home sales for February for signs excess inventory in the housing market is diminishing. Economists in a Thomson Reuters survey forecast a 4.62 million annualized unit total versus 4.57 million in January.

People are looking for a pullback and they are still not trusting the data and they still aren't believing their eyes, said Carol Pepper, CEO of Pepper International in New York.

It's like an early spring phenomenon when you have a couple of warm days and you are worried if spring is really here or will we have another freeze - should I put my plants in the ground or should I wait?

S&P 500 futures rose 1 point and were slightly above 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 added 16 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 1.75 points.

Baker Hughes Inc slumped 4 percent to $45.90 in premarket trade after the world's No. 3 oilfield services company said it expects sequentially lower operating profit before tax in the first quarter.

General Mills Inc shed 0.7 percent to $38.50 in premarket trade after the food maker reported a slight dip in quarterly profit and stood by its lowered full-year forecast as it faces higher costs for raw materials.

Discover Financial Services is expected to report after the close of trading.

Hewlett Packard Co gained 0.6 percent to $24.12 premarket after the company announced an organizational realignment, that will combine certain business units.

U.S. staffing provider On Assignment will buy privately held rival Apex Systems for $600 million, including debt, and said it expected the deal to significantly add to 2012 earnings. On Assignment shares surged 26.8 percent to $17.35 premarket.

Hartford Financial Services Group jumped 6.6 percent to $23.15 in premarket after the company said it would shed most of its life insurance-related operations, yielding to demands from its biggest shareholder, famed hedge fund manager John Paulson.

(Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

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