India, April 9 -- The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to see continued weakness following the substantial downturn seen over the course of the previous session.

Ongoing concerns about the impact of a global trade war are likely to weigh on Wall Street after President Donald Trump's new tariffs, including a 104 percent total levy on Chinese imports, took effect.

China retaliated by announcing it will increase its tariffs on U.S. goods to 84 percent from 34 percent just after midnight on Thursday.

"China urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practices, cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and properly resolve differences with China through equa...