Trading was muted early Wednesday, with major indexes heading modestly higher as the Trump administration seeks favorable deals with global trading partners, according to the Associated Press.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3% before the bell, and the S&P tick up 0.2%.
While President Donald Trump originally set Wednesday as the deadline for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy tariff increases, the window has now been extended to Aug. 1.
Pharmaceutical giant Merck is purchasing Verona Pharma, a U.K. company that focuses on respiratory diseases, in a roughly $10 billion deal.
Benchmark U.S. crude added 12 cents to $68.45 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, gained 11 cents to $70.26 per barrel.
