U.S. stock futures pointed to a strong open for Wall Street Wednesday, following a sharp rally in global markets, with Japan's blue-chip stock index surging more than 7 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average futures gained more than 200 points in early trade. U.S. stocks closed more than 2 percent higher Tuesday, rebounding after a long weekend and their second-worst week of the year.
Asian shares ended the day broadly higher, as "risk-on" sentiment returned to international stock markets after a volatile few weeks marked by fears of a China slowdown and uncertainty about the timing of a U.S. rate rise.
Japan's Nikkei index logged its biggest one-day gain since 2008 on Wednesday and China's Shanghai Composite index closed up 2.3 percent.
The positive sentiment spilled over into Europe, where major bourses in Germany and France jumped about 2 percent.
"Asian markets have swollen up like they were on steroids, as the positive momentum filtered from the U.S. markets. Traders are certainly paying much attention to the silver lining in the economic data and keeping their focus that the efforts of the People's Bank of China will work," Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, said in a note.
"The kind of panic which we experienced during the past few weeks in the market has very much evaporated and this week is becoming a very robust one for the equity markets."
Analysts said the expectation that China's policymakers will take further action to support the economy and prevent a sharp slowdown could help explain the positive tone in global markets.
In the U.S., traders are expected to eye the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) at 10 a.m. ET for further clues on the health of the labor market.
The key non-farm payrolls report on Friday reinforced expectations that the jobs market is strong enough to weather a rise in U.S. interest rates – possibly when the Federal Reserve meets next week.
On the earnings front, Krispy Kreme and Quiksilver are expected to report earnings after the close.
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Investors will also focus on tech giant Apple, which is expected to unveil new products later on Wednesday.