US pre-open: Futures higher ahead of first day of March trading
Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Wednesday as market participants try to start the new month off on a positive note.
As of 1300 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.19%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.25% and 0.41% higher, respectively.
The Dow closed 232.39 points lower on Tuesday as investors digested a number of data points.
Stronger-than-expected data out of China was boosting sentiment prior to the open, with the nation's National Bureau of Statistics revealing that its manufacturing PMI rose to 52.6 last month — a level not seen in almost 11 years.
News that inflation had eased more than expected in Australia during January was also in focus proper to the start of trading.
On the macro front, US mortgage applications fell 5.7% in the week ended 24 February for a third consecutive decline and almost 28-year low. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, applications to refinance a home loan dropped 5.5% and applications to purchase a home loan declined 5.6%.
Still to come, S&P Global's February manufacturing PMI will be published at 1445 GMT, while February's manufacturing PMI from the Institute of Supply Management and January construction spending figures will follow at 1500 GMT.
In the corporate space, Kohls, Wendys, Lowe's, Dollar Tree, and Salesforce will all report earnings on Wednesday.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com