After seeing notable strength in the previous session, stocks are likely to move back to the downside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 107 points.
Renewed concerns about the financial situation in Europe are likely to contribute to any early weakness on Wall Street, with rising Italian and Spanish bond yields contributing to the downward momentum.
A new poll out of Greece showing the anti-bailout Syriza party in the lead in next month's elections has also led to renewed concerns about the outlook for the debt-plagued nation.
Disappointing guidance from Research in Motion (RIMM) has also generated some negative sentiment, with the Blackberry maker saying it now expects to report an operating loss for its first quarter. The company attributed the forecast of a loss to the competitive environment.
On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on pending U.S. home sales in the month of April. The pending home sales index is expected to rise by 0.5 percent,
After seeing considerable volatility during morning trading on Tuesday, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the afternoon. The gains extended the upward move seen last week, which ended a three-week losing streak.
The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory but off their early highs. The Dow advanced 125.86 points or 1 percent to 12,580.69, the Nasdaq jumped 33.46 points or 1.2 percent to 2,870.99 and the S&P 500 climbed 14.60 points or 1.1 percent to 1,332.42.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index ended the day down by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plummeted by 1.9 percent.
The major European markets have also shown notable moves to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index is down by 1.3 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 1.6 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are tumbling $1.48 to $89.28 after dipping $0.10 to $90.76 a barrel on Tuesday. Gold for August delivery, which ended the previous session down $20.20 at $1,551 an ounce, is slipping $0.60 to $1,550.40 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 79.10 yen compared to the 79.49 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.244 compared to yesterday's $1.2503.
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