Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday, regaining ground following the sell-off seen in the previous session.
Technology stocks are likely to lead the early advance, with the Nasdaq 100 futures jumping by 1.1 percent.
The upward momentum partly reflects a positive reaction to earnings news from Microsoft (MSFT), as the software giant is surging by 8.1 percent in pre-market trading.
The jump by Microsoft comes after the company reported fiscal third quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines and provided upbeat revenue guidance for the current quarter.
Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) may also move to the upside after reporting better than expected first quarter results and announcing a $70 billion stock buyback.
Outside the tech sector, shares of Boeing (BA) are likely to see initial strength after the aerospace giant reported a wider than expected first quarter loss but announced plans to boost production of its 737 Max planes.
Positive sentiment may also be generated in reaction to a Commerce Department report showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by much more than expected in March amid a substantial rebound in orders for transportation equipment.
The report said durable goods orders spiked by 3.2 percent in March after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in February.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.0 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding the jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.3 percent in March after falling by 0.3 percent in February. Ex-transportation orders were expected to dip by 0.2 percent.
After showing a lack of direction for two straight sessions, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside after ending Monday's trading narrowly mixed.
The major averages finished the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow slumped 344.57 points or 1.0 percent to 33,530.83, the Nasdaq plunged 238.05 points or 2.0 percent to 11,799.16 and the S&P 500 tumbled 65.41 points or 1.6 percent to 4,071.63.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7 percent, while South Korea's Kospi edged down by 0.2 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index closed just below the unchanged line.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has slumped by 1.0 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.61 to $76.46 a barrel after plunging $1.69 to $77.07 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $2,006.50, up $2 compared to the previous session's close of $2,004.50. On Tuesday, gold rose $4.70.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 133.67 yen compared to the 133.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1046 compared to yesterday's $1.0973.
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