The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to give back ground after moving higher over the two previous sessions.

U.S. stocks shrugged off a weak start on Tuesday and despite staying a bit sluggish at times, kept moving higher and eventually ended the day's session on a firm note.

The major averages all finished with solid gains. The Dow, which dropped to 32,641.85 at the start, ended the session with a gain of 264.36 points or 0.8 percent at 33,180.14, nearly 30 points off the day's high of 33,207.45.

The S&P 500 settled with a gain of 39.25 points or 0.95 percent at 4,160.68, recovering well from an early low of 4,080.19. The Nasdaq, which drifted down to 11,888.61 in early trades, ended higher by 113.86 points or 0.94 percent at 12,175.23.

Worries about slowing growth, a weak margin guidance from Target, and a sell-off in the technology space contributed to market's weakness in early trades. However, top technology stocks recovered subsequently and the broad market too started climbing higher.

Strong buying in the energy section following a surge in crude oil prices contributed significantly to market's positive close.

Shares of retailer Khol's Corporation soared nearly 10 percent, riding on reports about a potential takeover bid from Franchise Group.

Salesforce.com, Chevron, Caterpillar, United Health, Honeywell International, Nike, Apple and American Express gained 1 to 2.5 percent.

Microsoft, Boeing, Verizon, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Coca-Cola also closed notably higher.

Target shares ended lower by 2.3 percent, weighed down by the company's weak earnings guidance. Walmart shares dropped by about 1.25 percent.

In U.S. economic news, a report from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in the month of April.

The report said the trade deficit narrowed to $87.1 billion in April from $107.7 billion in March. Economists had expected the deficit to shrink to $89.5 billion from the $109.8 billion originally reported for the previous month.

Crude oil futures are jumping $1.19 to $120.60 a barrel after climbing $0.91 to $119.41 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,853.70, up $1.60 compared to the previous session's close of $1,852.10. On Tuesday, gold rose $8.40.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 134.21 yen compared to the 132.59 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0723 compared to yesterday's $1.0703.

Asian stocks logged cautious gains on Wednesday despite growing worries that aggressive central bank policy tightening will dent global growth.

The World Bank on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global growth in 2022 further, saying the war in Ukraine, lockdowns in China, supply-chain disruptions, and the risk of stagflation are hammering growth.

"For many countries, recession will be hard to avoid," said World Bank President David Malpass.

The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, with economists expecting that the central bank will lay the groundwork for rapid rate rises.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told senators at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday that inflation is likely to stay high and the Biden administration would likely increase the 4.7 percent inflation forecast for this year in its budget proposal.

The Fed is expected to raise its benchmark funds rate by 50 basis points next week and again in July.

Chinese stocks swung between gains and losses before ending notably higher for the day on the back of a rally in tech shares.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose 0.68 percent to 3,263.79 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged as much as 2.24 percent to close at 22,014.59. Bilibili soared 19.6 percent after China's gaming regulator granted publishing licenses for 60 games.

Japanese shares rose to end at a 2-1/2-month high after U.S. markets rallied to end higher for a second straight day overnight.

The Nikkei average climbed 1.04 percent to 28,234.29 after data showed the country's Q1 GDP fell less than initially estimated. The broader Topix index closed 1.18 percent higher at 1,969.98.

Oil explorers led the surge on firmer oil prices. Japan Petroleum soared 5.7 percent and Inpex Corp added 4.7 percent.

SoftBank Group, Fanuc and Daikin Industries climbed 2-4 percent while Dai-ichi Life Holdings declined 2.2 percent and Mizuho Financial Group gave up 1.5 percent.

Seoul stocks closed little changed with a negative bias after Q! GDP growth was revised slightly down to 0.6 percent.

Australian markets eked out modest gains as strong commodity prices lifted mining and energy stocks. Banks fell after raising their home loan variable interest rates.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.36 percent to 7,121.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 0.39 percent at 7,347.

Atlas Arteria jumped 16.2 percent after reports that IFM Investors is considering a non-binding takeover bid for the toll road operator.

European stocks fell in cautious trade on Wednesday as the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development slashed global growth forecasts.

Underlying investor concerns about slowing growth, preliminary figures showed Germany's industrial production grew less than expected in April.

Industrial production rose a price, seasonally and calendar adjusted 0.7 percent from March, when output fell a 3.7 percent, which was revised from 3.9 percent, Destatis said. Economists had forecast 1.0 percent growth.

On a year-on-year basis, production decreased 2.2 percent in April after a 3.1 percent slump in the previous month.

Ahead of Thursday's ECB meeting, Eurostat data showed the euro zone economy grew much faster in the first quarter of the year than in the previous three months.

The final reading for the January-March period showed GDP of the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.6 percent sequentially for a 5.4 percent annual expansion.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.4 percent to 441.05 after declining 0.3 percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX, France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were down between 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent.

Swiss lender Credit Suisse plunged 5.4 percent after it warned of a likely group-wide second-quarter loss, citing "challenging" market conditions.

French spirits group Pernod Ricard lost 2.5 percent after saying it was banking on digital push to boost growth.

Schneider Electric dropped 1.3 percent. The leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation has inked a deal to sell its Eurotherm business unit to Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company.

Lower iron ore and base metal prices weighed on the mining sector, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore losing 1-3 percent.

Energy stocks such as BP Plc and Shell were seeing modest gains as oil prices rose on expectations of solid demand and low inventories.

Drug major AstraZeneca gained 1 percent after it announced positive results of COVID-19 treatment Evusheld in TACKLE Phase III treatment trial.

Industrial software firm Aveva rallied 3.8 percent after delivering "solid" full-year results, lifting dividend and backing its FY23 outlook.

Melrose Industries soared nearly 10 percent after the GKN owner announced a £500m share buyback.

Low-cost airline Wizz Air slumped 7 percent after it forecast more losses at the start of the summer season.

Spanish clothing company Inditex jumped more than 4 percent after reporting an 80 percent increase in first-quarter net profit.

Kindred Group soared 9 percent after the online gambling operator secured a gambling license in the Netherlands.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of April at 10 am ET. Wholesale inventories are expected to jump by 2.1 percent.

At 10:30 ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended June 3rd.

Crude oil inventories are expected to decrease by 1.9 million barrels after slumping by 5.1 million barrels in the previous week.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month's auction of $33 billion worth of ten-year notes at 1 pm ET.

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