US pre-open: Futures point to gains with Biden projected to pick up Super Tuesday win

US futures had stocks opening sharply higher on Wednesday as early results from Super Tuesday voting had former Vice President Joe Biden picking up some key wins and cementing his place as one of the top candidates in the Democratic pool.

As of 1230 GMT, Dow futures were up 2.33%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 2.07% and 2.13% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 785.91 points lower on Tuesday, more than reversing their early gains as an unscheduled rate cut from the Federal Reserve strengthened fears of a coronavirus-stoked recession.

Biden's success seemingly buoyed investor sentiment as he notched up a series of wins in key southern states - including Virginia, North Carolina, and Arkansas. NBC News has projected Biden to score 453 total delegates, ahead of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' total of 373.

To win the nomination, a Democratic candidate must receive support from at least 1,991 of the party's total 3,979 delegates.

The former VP's solid showing saw shares in health-care companies like UnitedHealth, one of the largest health insurers in the United States, making some positive moves on Wednesday, after Sanders' recent rise in polls had seen the industry come under selling pressure.

IG analyst Josh Mahony said: "Market sentiment certainly seems to have stabilised after a historic US session which saw the role of monetary policy undermined as traders sold into an extraordinary bout of easing from the Fed."

Elsewhere, the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield fell below 1% for the first time ever, while gold jumped 2.9% to $1,644.40 per ounce.

On the macro front, weekly mortgage refinances spiked 26% across the US as interest rates tanked on coronavirus fears.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, total mortgage application volume was up 15.1% week-on-week as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 3.57% from 3.73% last week. Refinance volume was nearly 224% higher year-on-year.

Still to come, ADP employment figures were due at 1315 GMT, while IHS Markit's composite and services PMIs for February will follow at 1445 GMT and the ISM's non-manufacturing/services composite will be published at 1500 GMT.

The Federal Reserve's beige book will be released at 1900 GMT.

In the corporate space, shares in Inovio Pharmaceuticals shot up 20% ahead of the bell after the firm said it was accelerating its timeline for the development of a vaccine aimed at treating the Wuhan coronavirus. Inovio expects to start human trials in the US in April.

Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle and Dollar Tree were all scheduled to report on Wednesday.