U.S. stock futures fell slightly Wednesday, following a winning session for the major averages. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 10 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures hovered near the flatline, while Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.15%. Alphabet shares fell more than 1% as the Department of Justice indicated it was considering a possible Google breakup. U.S.-listed China stocks also struggled as investors took profits from the recent stimulus-fueled rally. Wall Street is coming off a strong session driven by tech sector gains and easing in oil prices. Those moves seemed to reflect growing optimism the Federal Reserve can navigate a soft landing, especially after last week’s jobs report showed continued strength in the labor market. “There’s still a tug-of-war taking place between the ‘Big 4’ tailwinds (stimulus, disinflation, resilient growth, and healthy corporate performance) and rich valuations … and the result is an SPX that’s caught in a sideways price pattern (albeit one that’s biased slightly to the upside),” wrote Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli. Even with an underlying uptrend, markets could face further choppiness in what’s historically the most volatile month of the year, especially ahead of the U.S. presidential election. On the economic front, investors are anticipating the latest meeting minutes from the Fed on Wednesday, due at 2 p.m. ET. The September consumer and producer price index readings are due out Thursday and Friday, respectively. Earnings season kicks off Friday with the big banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.U.S. Treasury yields shifted slightly lower Wednesday, days after the rate on the 10-year note hit its highest level in more than two months. The 10-year Treasury yield’s jump to 4% on Monday came after last week’s stronger labor market readings, and follows on from the Federal Reserve’s rate cut last month. The 10-year Treasury yield was last 1.5 basis points lower at 4.02%. The 2-year Treasury slipped 2 basis points to 3.959%. Chinese stocks sold off in a volatile day of trading amid mixed Asia-Pacific markets Wednesday. The mainland CSI 300 dropped 7.05%, snapping a 10-day winning streak and closing at 3,955.98, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 1.7% as of its final hour of trade in a volatile session. On Tuesday, the HSI recorded its worst day in 16 years, closing 9.41% lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.87% to 39,277.96, while the broad-based Topix gained 0.3% and ended at 2,707.24. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.13%, closing at 8,187,4. South Korea’s markets are closed for a public holiday. Oil prices steadied in Asian trading on Wednesday, as traders weighed uncertainty surrounding developments in the Middle East conflict against continued bearish fundamentals. Brent crude futures rose 11 cents, or 0.14%, to $77.29 a barrel by 02:23 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 3 cents to $73.60 a barrel. Prices had plunged more than 4% in the previous session on a possible Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, but markets remain wary of a potential Israeli attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure. Gold extended losses for a sixth straight session on Wednesday to hover near the two-week lows hit the day before on lowered expectations of deeper rate cuts, as traders turned their focus to the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes and inflation data. Spot gold fell about 0.2% to $2,617.79 per ounce, having touched its lowest level since Sept. 20 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery was steady at $2,636.20.