US pre-open: Futures in the green as commodity prices ease

Major indices were firmly in the green ahead of the bell on Wednesday as commodity prices eased as Chinese leader Xi Jinping asked France and Germany to help support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

As of 1235 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 1.38%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 1.58% and 1.92% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 187.74 points lower on Tuesday as president Joe Biden banned the importation of Russian oil into the US after oil hit a 13-year high of $130 to start the week.

US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was down 1.3% to $122.12 a barrel, while Brent crude fell 0.7% to $127.20 after hitting $124.63 and $128.75 per barrel, respectively, at the end of the previous session.

However, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note rose to 1.901% as market participants continued to focus on the overall trend of rising inflation.

Turning to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China's President Xi Jinping called for "maximum restraint" and said Beijing was "pained to see the flames of war reignited in Europe".

Xi told French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday that the three countries should jointly support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The Chinese leader was also said to have described the situation in Ukraine as "deeply worrying" and that the priority should be preventing it from escalating or "spinning out of control".

However, China has still refused to publicly condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine or even refer to it as an invasion and has previously voiced opposition to what it has branded as illegal sanctions against Moscow.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications jumped 8.5% in the week ended 4 March for their first rise in five weeks, with Americans taking advantage of a drop in mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"Mortgage rates dropped for the first time in 12 weeks, as the war in Ukraine spurred an investor flight to quality, which pushed US Treasury yields lower. Looking ahead, the potential for higher inflation amidst disruptions in oil and other commodity flows will likely lead to a period of volatility in rates as these effects work against each other”, said MBA economist Joel Kan.

Still to come, January's JOLTs job report will follow at 1500 GMT.

In the corporate space, Campbell Soup and Crowdstrike will update on recent trading ahead of the opening bell.