U.S. stocks futures were sharply higher Wednesday morning. Dow futures indicated a positive open of more than 180 points, after sinking more than 285.26 points a day earlier on worries about the U.S.-China trade war and signs of weakness in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both higher early Wednesday. The moves in pre-market trade come after Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said that she will withdraw a contentious extradition bill that has sparked months of mass protests. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong had soared around 4 percent on reports overnight that the withdrawal of the bill was imminent. Earlier Wednesday, a report showed growth in China's services sector had expanded at its fastest rate in three months in August, despite broader economic headwinds. The Caixin/Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 52.1 in August — its highest reading since May. The 50-mark in PMI readings separates growth and contraction. At the start of the month, the U.S. and China imposed new tariffs on one another's goods. It marked the latest escalation in a long-running trade war between the world's two largest economies. Brexit In Europe, a cross-party alliance of rebel lawmakers defeated British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in parliament on Tuesday, moving to prevent him from taking the country out of the European Union without a formal agreement on October 31. It prompted the new prime minister to announce he would immediately push for a snap election. Sterling has since pared some of its recent losses against the U.S. dollar. The U.K. currency edged up 0.2 percent to climb above $1.21 Wednesday morning, after falling to its lowest level since October 2016 in the previous session. Data, earnings On the data front, weekly mortgage applications were due out at 7 a.m. ET. International trade figures for July will be released at 8:30 a.m., and light vehicle sales data for August were set to follow later in the session. In corporate news, American Eagle Outfitters, Navistar, and Vera Bradley are among some of the companies scheduled to report earnings before the opening bell. Copart, Palo Alto Networks, and Slack are among the companies set to report their latest quarterly results after market close. Source: CNBC
