Here are the top 5 things to know for today’s trading:
1. U.K. set to trigger Brexit
British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty Wednesday, which officially kicks off the process of exiting the European Union, known as Brexit.
May will send a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk formally announcing Britain's withdrawal from the bloc on Wednesday. Tusk will then send draft negotiating guidelines to the 27 other member states within 48 hours.
The correspondence, tentatively scheduled to be delivered at 11:30 GMT, will start the clock ticking on a two-year countdown to Brexit and allow negotiations to start between London and Brussels in the coming weeks.
Tusk was scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:45 GMT.
2. GBP falls ahead of Brexit trigger
Meanwhile, GBP slipped in early morning European trade on Brexit anxiety with experts warning of volatility and debating on whether the actual kick off was priced in.
The pound remained under pressure near one-week lows, having hit an intraday low at $1.2378, but later managed to recover the $1.24 level, even managing to briefly pass into positive territory.
3. Dollar continues recovery
The dollar gained ground on Wednesday, pulling further away from the multi-month lows hit earlier in the week, while sterling slid lower as markets braced for Britain to trigger its exit from the European Union.
The greenback continued to move higher on Wednesday on the back of data out the previous session that showed U.S. consumer confidence at its highest level since December 2000.
Investors were also looking ahead to several appearances from Federal Reserve officials throughout the day for any indications on the future path of monetary policy, including remarks from Chicago Fed president Charles Evans, Boston Fed chief Eric Rosengren and San Francisco Fed president John Williams later on Wednesday.
On the economic front, attention will focus on February pending home sales, out at 14:00 GMT.
4. Global stocks mixed
U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat open on Wednesday as investors looked set to take a break after the Dow managed to break its longest losing streak since 2011 a day earlier.
In Europe, stocks traded with mixed signs as traders in London showing caution as the FTSE100 slipped just 0.02%. Elsewhere, equities were mostly higher with the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.22%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.46%.
Earlier, Asian stock markets showed a mixed close, with the Shanghai Composite in China closing down 0.21%, while Japan's Nikkei held onto to slight gains of 0.08%.
5. Oil hits 1-week high
Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, hitting a 1-week high as investors looked ahead to weekly supply data from the U.S., while monitoring disruptions to Libyan crude production.
Optimism that an OPEC-led production cut deal will be extended through the end of the year further supported prices.
U.S. crude oil futures gained 0.62% to $48.67 at 9:57 GMT, while Brent oil traded up 0.66% to $51.76.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its official weekly oil supplies report at 14:30 GMT Wednesday. If the increase is confirmed, it would be the 12th weekly build in the past 14 weeks.