US pre-open: Futures have stocks extending yesterday's gains

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Wednesday as major indices look set to build on what has generally been a strong start to 2023.

As of 1220 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.16%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.21% and 0.18% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 186.45 points higher on Tuesday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session as Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's comments did little to indicate whether the FOMC was inclined to take another step down in its rate hiking cycle.

News from Finnish think tank the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air that revealed Russian revenues from fossil fuel exports tumbled in December were drawing an amount of investor attention prior to the opening bell, with the first month of the European Union's ban on seaborne imports of crude from the nation and the G-7's price cap costing Moscow roughly $171.8m per day and significantly hampering Vladimir Putin's ability to fund his war in neighbouring Ukraine.

However, Oleg Ustenko, economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that while it was "very good news" that Western measures had hurt Russia, they were "definitely not enough" and called for a price cap against the Kremlin of $20 to $30 a barrel - markedly lower than the current $60-per-barrel price cap.

On the macro front, mortgage applications rose 1.2% to start of 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, following a 10.3% nosedive to wrap up 2022. Applications to refinance a home loan soared 5.1%, while those to purchase edged 0.5% lower.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Wednesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com