European stocks may open higher on Wednesday as investors watch Treasury-market movements and progress on next round of fiscal stimulus.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased somewhat after comments from Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard that bond-market volatility may further delay any pullback in the central bank's asset purchases.
Gold edged lower on a firmer dollar as negotiations over President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus bill dragged on. Oil prices rebounded after a three-day fall.
Asian stocks climbed along with U.S. equity futures as investors cheered news of more vaccines coming on line and being rolled out.
On the economic front, Service PMIs from the euro area, U.S. reports on private sector employment and service sector activity, and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey will be in focus later today.
China's services sector activity grew at its slowest pace in 10 months in February as firms struggled with sluggish demand and high costs, a private survey revealed earlier in the day.
U.S. stocks fell overnight as a sharp rally the previous day led to valuation concerns, with China's banking regulator warning that U.S. and European markets are potentially creating bubbles.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped half a percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.7 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.8 percent.
European markets gained ground for the second day running on Tuesday as focus shifted to rapid vaccination efforts and optimism about an economic recovery.
The pan European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.2 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 index rose 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.4 percent.
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