NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures slipped on Wednesday, pointing to a second consecutive trading session in the red, after data from ADP showed a less-than-expected increase in payrolls in February. 

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.31%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.21%, and Nasdaq futures declined 0.22%. 

ADP said 212,000 jobs were added to private payrolls in February, a touch lower than in January. The reading was less than an expected 220,000 increase. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the U.S. jobs report for February on Friday. Expectations are for 235,000 jobs to have been added to nonfarm payrolls compared to 257,000 a month earlier. The unemployment rate is forecast to tick down 100 basis points to 5.6%.

China's services sector grew slightly in February. The HSBC/Markit purchasing managers' index ticked up to 52 over the month from 51.8 in January. China's Shanghai Composite added 0.51%. 

"The solid rise in new orders suggests that activity growth may pick up in the months ahead," said Markit's Annabel Fiddes in a statement.

European markets fell back from earlier gains following the best increase in retail sales in nearly 10 years. Retail sales in the eurozone increased 3.7% in January. Markit's purchasing managers' index for the eurozone rose to 53.7 in February, higher than 52.7 in January, though lower than a preliminary reading of 53.5. 

Germany's DAX was up 0.25%, France's CAC 40 added 0.24%, and the FTSE 100 in London slid 0.1%. 

Target (TGT) - Get Report was poised to move at the open after announcing plans to cut thousands of jobs in a restructuring designed to reduce costs by $2 billion over two years. At its analyst day presentation, the retail chain also guided for 2015 earnings as high as $4.65 a share, above analysts' estimates of $4.50 a share.

Firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson (SWHC) jumped nearly 10% in premarket trading after beating analysts' estimates on its top- and bottom-lines. The company also raised its full-year earnings forecast as high as 89 cents a share from a previous 78 cents. 

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) - Get Report slumped more than 6% after quarterly sales tumbled nearly 14% and comparable-store sales fell 10%.