While this should bring a big boost to the economy, investors also worry that the program will be funded by taxing highest-earners and companies.

Reuters reported earlier this month that White House advisers were working on a legislative package with a total cost of up to $4 trillion. Biden is expected to make the announcement from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Archegos scandal is also on everyone’s mind, with some additional collateral victims, such as Mitsubishi UFJ and UBS Group.  

Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in China grew at its fastest pace in three months as factories ramped up production while rising global demand contributed to the economy's solid rebound. The manufacturing PMI climbed to 51.9 from 50.6 in February, according to official data released Wednesday, settling for a 13th consecutive month above the 50 threshold that separates contraction and expansion in economic activity. The PMI was above consensus, while analysts were anticipating a PMI of 51.0. More broadly, the official composite PMI, which combines the manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 55.3 in March from 51.6 the previous month.

Without citing specific figures, IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva announced that global growth should be higher than the 5.5% expected in January. During a speech, she said the recovery of the world economy would be largely linked to the Biden plan and partly by the effects to come of the vaccination campaigns. The only negative note is that this recovery will be at two speeds. The United States and China are among the lucky ones, and will exceed their pre-crisis levels.

 

Economic highlights of the day:

UK GDP, French inflation, German unemployment figures, and European-wide inflation are on the agenda. In the U.S., the program includes the ADP employment survey, the Chicago PMI, housing figures and the weekly oil inventories.

The euro continues to slide against the dollar to USD 1.1707. The ounce of gold is at USD 168. Oil is recovering a few cents with North Sea Brent at USD 64.16 and U.S. light crude WTI at USD 60.60. U.S. debt offers a 10-year yield of 1.74%. Bitcoin is slightly down at USD 58,200

 

On markets:

* Pfizer and BioNTech are up 0.8% and 2.6%, respectively, in pre-market trading after announcing that a study showed their Covid-19 vaccine was safe and effective in adolescents aged 12 to 15.

* Alaska Air Group announced an order for 23 more Boeing 737 MAX 9s, adding to the 23 announced in December.

* Walgreens Boots Alliance is up 2.5% in premarket trading after a well-received earnings report and an increase in its annual profit forecast.

* Mastercard and four other companies violated competition law in the market for prepaid payment cards distributed by public services to vulnerable people, the British Payment Systems Authority announced Wednesday. The U.S. group, Allpay and PFS have admitted responsibility and could face fines of more than £32 million.

* Blackberry lost 6% in premarket trading after reporting quarterly revenue below Wall Street expectations.

* Facebook said Wednesday it will take steps to combat hateful messages and misinformation as India's long-running regional elections begin.

* JD.com is up 1% in pre-market trading after announcing the spin-off of its cloud computing and artificial intelligence division.

* Oracle on Wednesday offered to offer companies free migration of their most complex computer programs to the cloud, an attempt to attract customers to catch up with its cloud computing competitors.

* Lululemon Athletica expects to post better-than-expected first-quarter sales, but the sportswear specialist warned that a potential resurgence of coronavirus infections could lead to more store closures and lower demand. The stock was down 1.6% in after-hours trading.