Futures slip after major averages post winning day on Trump's denial that he plans to fire Powell: Live updates

U.S. stock futures ticked lower on Wednesday night. The moves follow a winning day after President Donald Trump denied that he was planning to fire Jerome Powell from his position as Federal Reserve chairman.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82 points, or 0.18%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both dipped about 0.2%.

During Wednesday's regular session, the S&P 500 gained 0.32%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.26%. The 30-stock Dow rose 231.49 points, or 0.53%.

Stocks initially fell after a White House official said that Trump “likely will soon” fire Powell from his post, with the blue-chip Dow dropping more than 260 points at its session low. The New York Times also reported that Trump had even drafted a letter calling for Powell's resignation to show House Republicans.

However, equities rebounded after the president downplayed the reports and said he was “not planning on doing it,” although adding that he does not “rule out anything.”

To Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, Wednesday's stock rebound indicates that the market may have already moved past Powell's potential ousting.

“The only real piece of information, I would argue, that you got today is that firing Powell is not that big of a deal,” he said to CNBC.

Instead, Green said that at least in the near term, investors would likely continue to direct most of their attention toward upcoming earnings reports as the market's most important catalyst. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Travelers, GE Aerospace, U.S. Bancorp and Citizens Financial Group are set to report earnings before Wednesday's opening bell.

“I would be very surprised if we don't get relatively positive reports out of the tech leaders. Not impossible, but surprised. Overall, that would suggest that the markets are going to experience some relief associated with earnings season not being as bad as people think,” Green said.

On Thursday, traders will also watch out for weekly jobless claims, the latest reading on June's retail sales report and last month's export and import price indexes.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended Wednesday positive

Eight of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 closed higher on Wednesday.

The gains were led by the health-care sector, which added 1.22%. The energy sector was the laggard and fell 0.84%.

Eight of the sectors are negative on the week, again led to the downside by energy, down 3.35%. Tech stocks, up 1.29%, are currently the week's best performers.

If Trump fired Fed Chair Powell, it would be ‘significantly negative for markets,’ Wolfe says

Expect a “mess” for markets if President Donald Trump were to dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from his post, analysts at Wolfe Research said.

“We expect, as does everyone else, that it would be significantly negative for markets, likely driving both an equity selloff and a counterproductive spike in long-term yields,” Wolfe's Tobin Marcus and Chutong Zhu said in a Wednesday note.

Wolfe modeled out several scenarios of how things may unfold if Trump were to fire Powell. Click here to read CNBC's Dan Mangan's coverage of Wolfe's findings.

Wolfe issued its note in what was a volatile day for investors as stocks initially tumbled after a White House official said that Trump “likely will soon” fire Powell, leading the Dow Industrials to fall more than 260 points at its session low. The major averages rebounded and ultimately closed higher after Trump later said he was “not planning on doing it,” but noted that he does not “rule out anything.”

Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: United Airlines, Sarepta Therapeutics and more

These are the stocks moving the most in extended-hours trading:

United Airlines — Shares fell nearly 2% after the airline carrier posted a second-quarter revenue of $15.24 billion, missing analysts' expectations of $15.35 billion, according to LSEG.

Sarepta Therapeutics — The biopharma stock soared 32% after the company announced a “strategic restructuring” plan that involved a 36% workforce reduction, or around 500 employees.

Monarch Casino & Resort — Shares popped 15% after the casino operator reported second-quarter earnings of $1.44 per share, up about 21% from the year-ago period.

Stock futures are little changed

Stock futures traded near flat on Wednesday night.

Dow futures slipped around 53 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also lost 0.1%.