European stock markets are expected to rise after a better than expected manufacturing PMI in China. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 3,561.92 points (-0.24%), the CAC 40 at 6,210.22 points (-0.19%), the DAX 40 at 12.961.14 points (+0.53%), the FTSE 100 at 7,361.63 points (-0.88%), the SMI at 10,884.95 points (-0.11%), the AEX at 690.31 points (-1.15%), the BEL 20 at 3.629.34 points (-0.35%), the IBEX 35 at 7,979.80 points (-0.12%), the DJIA at 31,790.87 points (-0.96%), the Nasdaq at 11,883.14 points (-1.12%), the S&P 500 at 3,986.16 points (-1.10%) and the Nikkei 225 at 28,053.00 points (-0.51%).

In terms of exchange rates, the change from the close in New York shows EUR/USD opening at 1.0042 (+0.27%), EUR/JPY at 139.04 (+0.03%) and USD/JPY at 138.47 (-0.23%).

Investors will take the pulse of the French economy on Wednesday, with the release of second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), August inflation and July household consumption figures. On the corporate side, bioMérieux and Eiffage will publish their half-yearly results on Wednesday. The Russian group Gazprom also announced Tuesday evening that it would suspend its gas deliveries to Engie from Thursday, the deliveries made in July have not been settled in full. Engie had said Tuesday morning that Gazprom had informed it of an immediate reduction in its gas deliveries "due to a disagreement between the parties on the application of contracts".

European equity markets are expected to open higher on Wednesday, after slightly better-than-expected data on China's manufacturing sector. At 7:35 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract was up 26 points, or 0.4 percent, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX contract was up 79 points, or 0.6 percent, and the FTSE 100 was up 21 points, or 0.3 percent. Manufacturing activity in China contracted again in August but at a slower pace than in July, according to official data released Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. While the country's economy remains penalized by Beijing's "zero Covid" policy and the containment measures it entails, the PMI index for the manufacturing sector reached 49.4 in August, after 49 in July. Below 50, the index signals a contraction in activity. However, the index is higher than the expectations of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal, who were expecting an index of 49.2 in August.

On Tuesday evening, Wall Street ended sharply lower for the third consecutive session after the release of good indicators on employment and household confidence in the United States, which may reinforce the restrictive monetary policy of the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Dow Jones index closed down 1% and the broader S&P 500 index ended down 1.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index gave up 1.1%. In addition to these indicators, New York Federal Reserve (Fed) President John Williams said on Tuesday that the U.S. central bank should raise interest rates to a level where they would not be too high.In addition to these indicators, New York Fed President John Williams said Tuesday that the U.S. central bank should raise interest rates to a level where they will restrain economic activity and hold that position until inflation comes down.

In Asia, the major indices were mixed on Wednesday. At the end of the session, the Nikkei on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 0.4%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 0.5%. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.6%.

U.S. Treasury yields presented a mixed picture Wednesday morning. As of 7:35 a.m., the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, the market's benchmark, was at 3.103%, up from 3.110% Tuesday night, while the yield on the two-year security was at 3.462%, up from 3.433%. The yield on the two-year bond is at its highest levels since 2007.

The euro is gaining ground against the dollar on Wednesday morning, but the greenback may recover during the session on risk aversion sentiment sparked by Tuesday's Wall Street decline. Advisors Asset Management notes that widespread risk aversion will continue to support the dollar.

Oil contracts are gaining ground on Wednesday, after losing more than 5% on Tuesday on concerns about the economic outlook and energy demand, as well as reassuring news about supply. "Everything seems to be turning against oil. Global markets remain concerned about the Fed and everyone is bracing for further household and business woes," OANDA notes. However, as the oil market still remains tight, the selling moves may not last long, the broker adds.

In other news, the trade organization American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday night that U.S. crude inventories rose by 593,000 barrels last week, while gasoline supplies fell by 3.4 million barrels. These figures were released ahead of the U.S. Department of Energy's official data on U.S. oil inventories, expected on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal are expecting, on average, a 1.2 million barrel drop in crude inventories and a 1.1 million barrel drop in gasoline inventories. At 7:25 a.m., the November contract for North Sea Brent crude was up $1.11 at $98.95 a barrel, while October light sweet crude (WTI) listed in New York was up $1.05 at $92.69 a barrel.