Stock futures point to a higher open on Wednesday following four consecutive sessions of losses. With Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras failing to present EU leaders with a detailed reform blueprint at a meeting of finance ministers on Tuesday, frustrated European leaders gave Greece until Sunday to come up with credible new proposals in return for financial aid that will save it from plunging into economic turmoil.
"The situation is very critical and we cannot exclude a black scenario if there is no agreement by Sunday," European Council President Donald Tusk said.
After promising to work for a socially just deal that would bring a "final exit" from the crisis, Tsipras will address the European Parliament on Wednesday to brief lawmakers over the ongoing talks with the country's international creditors.
The Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers will hold a conference call later today to discuss Greece's request for a medium-term loan from the European Stability Mechanism. The European Central Bank will be forced to cut off emergency liquidity to Greece should the Mediterranean country miss its July 20 payment.
Asian shares are declining across the board as the stock market turmoil in China deepened, raising concerns it could affect global markets. China's Shanghai Composite index is currently down over 4 percent despite policymakers unveiling more measures to stabilize the market. The benchmark index fell over 8 percent early in the day.
Before the market open, China's insurance regulator said it would raise the limit for qualified insurers to invest in blue-chip stocks by 10 percent. The country's securities regulator said its state-backed margin finance firm will provide adequate liquidity for brokerages to help ease the "panic sentiment" in the market.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is also down over 4 percent amid the sell-off in mainland markets. The sell-off in China is so bad that over 1,200 companies have halted trading to prevent investors from selling their shares.
The commodity currencies such as the Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars fell sharply amid risk aversion, as the steep sell-off in Chinese equities and concerns over Greece eroded prospects for raw-material demand.
London copper prices swung higher after hitting a six-year low on Tuesday, while oil prices edged lower ahead of the weekly U.S. inventory report from the Energy Information Administration.
In economic releases, prices in British high street stores fell 1.3 percent in June from a year earlier, after a 1.9 percent decline in May, the British Retail Consortium said. Food prices eased 0.4 percent in the month, while non-food prices dropped almost 2.0 percent.
Another report compiled by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG showed that permanent job placements in the U.K. increased at the slowest pace in over two years in June.
Investors await the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting later in the day for fresh clues on the timing of a possible rise in U.S. interest rates.
In corporate news, Swiss drug giant Novartis AG said it has received FDA approval for its Entresto drug, used to treat heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, in which the heart muscle does not contract effectively.
French catering and vouchers company Sodexo S.A. reported that its consolidated revenues for the first nine months of fiscal 2015 totaled 15.14 billion euros, an increase of 9.5 percent from 13.82 billion euros last year.
The European markets extended losses for a fourth straight day on Tuesday after the European Central Bank made it harder for Greece's banks to access emergency loans. The German DAX tumbled 2 percent, France's CAC 40 index slumped 2.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index shed 1.6 percent.
U.S. stocks rose modestly overnight as Greece and its creditors held talks in Brussels to discuss how to keep the country in the euro zone. The gains were led by defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer staples. On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit widened in May as exports fell more than imports amid weak overseas demand and a strong U.S. dollar. The Dow gained half a percent and the S&P 500 added 0.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.1 percent.
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Market Analysis
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.