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US pre-open: Futures point to early gains as coronavirus fears fade

By Iain Gilbert

Date: Friday 24 Jan 2020

US pre-open: Futures point to early gains as coronavirus fears fade

(Sharecast News) - US futures were pointing to some modest gains ahead of the bell on Friday despite the World Health Organization branding the Wuhan coronavirus an "emergency in China" yesterday.
As of 1230 GMT, Dow futures were up 0.26%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.22% and 0.33% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 26.18 points lower on Thursday as Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance as the spread of the Chinese coronavirus continued to dampen the mood in global capital markets.

While the World Health Organization labelled the outbreak an emergency in China, the specialised agency stopped short of calling it a global public health emergency.

Markets had been somewhat subdued since the outbreak, with the death toll now reaching 25 and the number of confirmed cases exceeding 830.

CMC Markets' David Madden said: "The situation is getting worse in China as the number of confirmed infections and deaths has increased, but the fact the international health body said it is not yet a worldwide emergency, has lifted market confidence.

"Stocks declined recently for fear the situation would turn into a global crisis, but the update from the WHO has acted as a green light to the bulls."

In the corporate space, American Express will report on Friday.

On the data calendar, IHS Markit's January manufacturing and services PMIs will be posted at 1445 GMT.

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