Stocks are climbing again

Futures are higher for a second straight day since the sell-off after the UK referendum last week. The pound is also higher.

Near 7:35 a.m. ET, Dow futures are up 90 points (0.52%), S&P 500 futures are up 10 points (0.51%) and Nasdaq futures are up 23 points (0.55%).

The Dow closed up 269 points, or 1.57%, on Tuesday.

In an email after the close, Dave Lutz, head of ETFs at JonesTrading, highlighted some of the catalysts for the "face ripper into the close." They included heavy quant buying that was the biggest since the Brexit vote, a surge in commodities like crude oil, lower odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike, and short sellers spooked by M&A chatter.

"It's still unclear whether this is a dead-cat bounce or the real thing in terms of recovery, but with little signs of appetite for lows to be revisited, and for the bounce to have endured a third full session [in Europe]," the worst may be behind us, said Accendo Markets' Mike van Dulken in morning commentary.

The dollar is lower versus most major currencies as some calm returns to financial markets. The pound is stronger, up by 0.6% at 1.34340 against the dollar as of 8:00 a.m. ET.

Bonds are rallying, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year note is down three basis points to 1.458%.

In US economic data, personal income and spending numbers for May are expected at 8:30 a.m. ET, and pending home sales for the same month will cross at 10 a.m. ET.

Nike shares are down 1% pre-market after the company reported global futures orders that were weaker than expected, even as profits topped estimates. The stock dropped 6% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.