US pre-open: Markets to rise on oil rebound

US markets were looking up before the open on Wednesday, as oil prices started to turn around.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was set to open up 29 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were both expected to start the session five points higher.

Key data due in the afternoon includes the private payrolls figures from ADP at 1315 GMT, Markit Services and Composite purchasing managers' index at 1445 GMT, followed by the ISM Non-Manufacturing Composite for January at 1500 GMT.

Oil and gas inventory data will be out at 1530 GMT.

Oil concerns lead Asia down

Elsewhere, investors were sprinting away from Asian stocks on Wednesday, after a shocker session in the US overnight, with Tokyo leading the downhill run for most of the day.

Asian traders were responding to the almost 300-point fall in the Dow Jones Industrial Average overnight, with the US benchmark closing down 1.8%. It was a bad night for oil too, with New York-traded crude falling below $30 a barrel, taking Exxon Mobil down 2.23% and BP down 1.38%.

"The main concern seems to be weakness in the oil price," said Haitong International managing director Andrew Sullivan in a note.

However services in China were facing encouraging news, with the unofficial Caixin China services PMI rising to 52.4 in January, up from 50.2 in December.

The figure indicated growth in the sector, which analysts said was likely a result of Beijing policy measures intended to underpin growth in the sector.

European stocks fell, taking their cue from downbeat sessions in the US and Asia as investors looked to the US ADP employment report for clues ahead of Friday’s non-farm payrolls.

Oil prices started to rise again, with West Texas Intermediate up 2.21% to $30.54 a barrel and Brent jumping 2.23% to $33.45.

The dollar was down against all the major currencies, dropping 0.66% against the pound, 0.04% against the euro and 0.38% against the yen. Spot gold was down 0.02% to $1,128.79.

In company news, Yahoo shares dropped 1.5% before the bell after the internet giant reported a $4.4bn loss, down from a $166m profit the previous year.

Chipotle Mexican Grill also posted its first ever sales decline led to a 44% drop in it fourth quarter profit. Shares were down nearly 6% before the market opened.