NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Renewed violence in Iraq, continuing high oil prices and concern about the tech sector could contribute to a drop in stock prices when the markets open Wednesday.

Early Wednesday, Nasdaq and S&P futures were slightly lower.

In Iraq, there were indications that a second American held hostage has been killed, although there has been no confirmation. In addition, a car bomb in Baghdad killed at least seven people and injured 47.

Oil prices also pressured futures as crude sat just below $47 a barrel on anticipation that the government will report a large drop in inventories Wednesday and heating fuel will be in short supply this winter.

U.S. crude futures for November delivery inched lower by 2 cents to $46.74 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent oil futures slipped 7 cents to $43.32 a barrel in London.

Morgan Stanley said Wednesday it had cut its view of the European semiconductor industry to "in line" from "attractive," and cut its rating on STMicroelectronics (STM: Research, Estimates), Europe's largest semiconductor maker, to "underweight" from "equal weight." ST shares of that chipmaker lost 1.3 percent in Paris trading following the downgrade.

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies (IFX: Research, Estimates) was slightly lower in Frankfurt trading.

Shares of Eastman Kodak (EK: Research, Estimates) pointed to a higher opening Wednesday after the world's largest photographic film producer backed its profit outlooks and boosted its growth targets for its digital products. Shares of Kodak gained $1.23, or 3.8 percent, to $32.90 in before-hours trading Wednesday.

Despite reporting that its first-quarter profit more than doubled, shares of FedEx (FDX: Research, Estimates) fell 2 percent before hours after the shipping company reported a profit that met Wall Street's estimates.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley (MWD: Research, Estimates) posted a third-quarter profit that fell from a year earlier, and the company added it will pay $19 million to settle a probe of its operations by the New York Stock Exchange.

Among the tech companies making news was Lucent Technologies (LU: Research, Estimates), which has announced additional cuts in health care benefits for retirees.

Stocks rallied Tuesday after the Fed's interest rate hike, with its accompanying optimistic assessment of the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 40 points, while the Nasdaq composite index was a solid 13 points higher.

Asian-Pacific stocks were mixed, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.6 percent. European markets rose in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets).

Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Walt Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates) was unchanged. At its board meeting Tuesday, the media company said it would name a successor to CEO Michael Eisner by next June.

Treasury prices rose in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield down to 4.03 percent from 4.04 percent late Tuesday. The dollar gained against the yen and euro. Gold inched upward.

In corporate news, Interstate Bakeries (IBC: Research, Estimates), the largest U.S. baker and the maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies, filed for bankruptcy court protections early Wednesday. The company had faced both accounting problems and weaker sales it attributed to the popularity of low-carb diets.