US pre-open: Futures point to positive open as coronavirus fears take a back seat
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 11 Feb 2020
(Sharecast News) - US futures were pointing to some early gains ahead of the bell on Tuesday as Wall Street continued to shrug off worries regarding the economic impact of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
As of 1240 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.30%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.29% and 0.46% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed 174.31 points higher on Monday, bouncing back from some losses at the end of last week as news of some major corporate deals temporarily distracted market participants from headlines related to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
While China's National Health Commission confirmed overnight that the death toll had risen to 1,016 people, with 42,638 confirmed cases, that number was the lowest seen since late January, increasing optimism regarding the nation's efforts to contain the outbreak.
Concerns regarding the economic impact of the outbreak were also offset by some positive data.
Oanda's Edward Moya said: "Global equities are higher across the board as investor optimism grows that Beijing is confident enough to allow its largest businesses to resume industrial production and on hopes that Fed Chair Powell's testimony to Congress will signal that the coronavirus impact to the global economy could warrant further stimulus from the Fed.
"It seems that Beijing is losing patience with allowing the economy to fall to stall speed, the worst levels in almost three decades. President Xi is pushing back and signalling leaders to avoid 'more restrictive measures'."
On the macro front, the National Federation of Independent Business' small-business optimism index rebounded from a slight decline at the end of 2019, rising to 104.3 points in January from the 102.7 recorded a month earlier.
Small businesses were more optimistic about sales and profits in January, but the NFIB's survey indicated that it was still difficult to find qualified workers.
Still to come, JOLTS job openings for December will be released at 1500 GMT.
In corporate news, Under Armour shares were down 11% ahead of the bell after the sporting goods firm reported that sales had missed analysts' estimates during the holiday quarter.
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