US stock futures rallied after a Federal Reserve official said the US jobless rate will fall below six per cent this year.

James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, painted a bright outlook for the US economy despite weak data earlier in the year.

"The biggest thing is that unemployment has come down more quickly than expected," he said at the annual Credit Suisse investor conference in Hong Kong today.

The unemployment rate for February was 6.7%, just off January's five-year low of 6.6%.

In another lift to markets on Wednesday, a report showed US durable goods orders rose more than expected in February.

Orders gained 2.2%, compared to a 1.3% fall in January. Economists had predicted a 0.8% rise.

Crimea

Geopolitical tensions remained high after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last week.

Political leaders from the world's top economies removed Russia from the G8 on Monday as they met in The Hague. The group said it was ready to "intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation".

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing the weakest domestic economic outlook since 2009, has shrugged off threats of sanctions from the US and European Union.

Sources told Bloomberg there would be serious repercussions for the move as Russia may have to direct at least $2.8bn of emergency budget reserves this year to subsidise Crimea.

Facebook gains on Oculus deal

Facebook advanced as the social network group said it will spend $2bn to buy Oculus, which makes virtual-reality headsets.

Endocyte declined after the biotechnology company said it will offer 4.5m shares to raise funds for working capital, research and development and clinical-trial costs.

Tesla Motors climbed as the Ohio Senate committee approved a bill that permits the company to operate retail stores.

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