US pre-open: Futures in the green following yesterday's sell-off

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Wednesday following a sharp sell-off in the previous session.

As of 1225 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.38%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.41% and 0.78% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 308.05 points lower on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of the current pandemic-fuelled bull market.

In focus ahead of the bell on Wednesday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note continued to slide, currently sitting well of recent highs at around 1.62%.

Rising Covid-19 cases across the globe were also in focus as highly multiple variants of the coronavirus continue to spread, with both Germany and France extending or enforcing new lockdown measures. However, the pace of vaccinations in the US continues to accelerate, with nearly one in five adults now fully vaccinated.

SpreadEx's Connor Campbell said: "After falling under 32,500 last night, the Dow Jones is set to attempt a 0.2% increase later today. Whether it can withstand the creeping sense of dread in Europe, however, is another matter entirely."

On the macro front, February durable goods orders were due out at 1230 GMT, while IHS Markit's flash manufacturing PMI for March will follow at 1345 GMT and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's testimonies in front of the House Committee on Financial Services will continue at 1400 GMT.

Yesterday, Powell and Yellen acknowledged richly valued asset prices in financial markets but assured that they were not concerned about stability. “I'd say that while asset valuations are elevated by historical metrics, there’s also belief that with vaccinations proceeding at a rapid pace, that the economy will be able to get back on track," Yellen said.

Powell added that the US economic recovery from the pandemic had "progressed more quickly than generally expected and looks to be strengthening". However, he cautioned that sectors of the economy hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic "remain weak" and stated that the unemployment rate "underestimates the shortfall", meaning the economy's recovery still had some way to go.

In the corporate space, mobile home maker Winnebago reported record quarterly revenues of $839.9m, while General Mills fell short of earnings and announced the resumption of its share buyback programme.

The highly-touted and heavily-shorted GameStop reported solid quarterly earnings overnight but failed to really move the dial on its share price.