World stocks continued their downward dance in the shadow of Greece's debt crisis, and the euro took a dive.
U.S. stocks appeared ready to open lower, after a bounce of more than 1 per cent on Tuesday. Dow futures slid 0.4 per cent to 11,965, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.5 per cent to 1,278.10.
Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.2 per cent, France's CAC 40 fell 0.3 per cent and Germany's DAX declined 0.3 per cent as talks over Greece's financial future remained deadlocked and Moody's Investors Service said it may downgrade ratings of France's three largest banks over their exposure to Greece.
Moody's said that BNP Paribas SA and Credit Agricole SA faced a one-notch downgrade, while Societe Generale SA could see a two-notch decline.
The euro fell nearly 1 percent against the U.S. dollar to $1.4310. The loonie rose to $1.0325 (U.S.).
Oil prices fell below $99, with benchmark crude for July delivery down 52 cents to $98.85 a barrel.
Gold futures dipped 0.3 per cent to $1,520.30 an ounce.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.7 per cent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.4 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei edged 0.3 per cent higher.
Sonali Verma