WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving notably higher over the two previous
sessions, stocks are likely to see further upside in early trading on Wednesday.
The major index futures are currently pointing to a positive open for the
markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.

A positive reaction to the latest corporate earnings news may contribute to an
extended rebound on Wall Street following the considerable weakness seen last
week.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are skyrocketing by 11.4 percent in pre-market trading
even though the electric vehicle maker reported weaker than expected first
quarter results.

The surge by Tesla comes after CEO Elon Musk said the company plans to start
production of a new affordable model by early 2025.

Semiconductor company Texas Instruments (TXN) is also seeing significant
pre-market strength after reporting first quarter results that beat expectations
on both the top and bottom lines.

Shares of Visa (V), Boeing (BA) and Mattel (MAT) are also likely to move to the
upside after the companies reported better than expected quarterly results.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing
new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by more than expected in
the month of March.

The report said durable goods orders soared by 2.6 percent in March after
climbing by a downwardly revised 0.7 percent in February.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to spike by 2.3 percent compared to
the 1.3 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding a surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders
crept up by 0.2 percent in March after inching up by 0.1 percent in February.
Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

U.S. stocks ended on a firm note on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous
session, with technology shares once again outperforming amid optimism about
earnings.

A batch of encouraging earnings updates and slightly easing concerns about the
outlook for interest rates helped underpin sentiment.

The major averages all ended notably higher. The Dow settled with a gain of
263.71 points or 0.7 percent at 38,503.69. The S&P 500 jumped 59.95 points or
1.2 percent to 5,070.55, while the Nasdaq surged 245.33 points or 1.6 percent to
settle at 15,696.64.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly
higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index shot up by 2.4
percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the
U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5
percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $36 to $83 a barrel after
surging $1.46 to $83.36 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is
trading at $2,329.80, down $12.30 compared to the previous session's close of
$2,342.10. On Tuesday, gold edged down $4.30.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.93 yen compared to the
154.11 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the
euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0683 compared to yesterday's $1.0701.



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