08:57 AM EDT, 04/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures posted narrow gains ahead of Wednesday's opening bell as investor sentiment rebounded following earlier fears that interest rates may remain elevated for longer while key earnings poured in.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.1%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.2%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed lower Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested interest rates are expected to remain higher for longer until there's more evidence of an inflation slowdown.

Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude and US West Texas Intermediate crude both down 0.9% on signs of rising supply in the US. Industry group American Petroleum Institute reported a 4.09 million weekly increase in US crude stockpiles, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Government data on US crude inventories are due for release at 10:30 am ET.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.3% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.02% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 2.1% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.6%, and Germany's DAX index gained 0.4% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, shares of The Travelers Companies ( TRV ) were 6% lower pre-bell after the company reported Q1 core earnings that trailed analysts' estimates. ASML Holdings (ASML) shares fell 5% after the company posted weaker fiscal Q1 financial results. US Bancorp ( USB ) shares were down 3% on lower Q1 earnings and revenue.

On the winning side, INVO Bioscience ( INVO ) shares more than doubled after the company reported improved Q4 results. Vanda Pharmaceuticals ( VNDA ) shares rose 38% after Future Pak said it had submitted proposals to acquire the company.