Futures point to a positive open
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher start for Wall Street on Tuesday, as traders readied to attempt a bounce back from the previous session’s steep sell-off that was triggered by a jump in coronavirus cases outside of China.
As of 4:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures rose 59 points, or 0.21% to 28,027. The S&P 500 futures were up 9.63 points, or 0.3% to 3,235.88 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 43 points, or 0.47% to 9,134.
The Dow dropped more than 1,000 points Monday, on fears that the highly-infectious virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, will hurt the global economy. The Nasdaq Composite closed down 3.7% to 9,221.28 while the S&P 500 gave away its year-to-date gains, dropping 3.35% to 3,225.89.
Traders piled into safe havens such as high-dividend stocks, gold and U.S. government bonds. This pushed the yield on the 10-year Treasury down more than 10 basis points to trade at 1.377%, its lowest level in more than three years.
Trump says coronavirus is “under control” and stock market looks “very good”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has weighed in on the coronavirus epidemic, saying that the virus is under control in the U.S., and adding that he thinks the stock market looks good.
“The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries,” Trump, who is on his first official visit to India, tweeted on Monday. “CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
White House officials confirmed on Monday that the president is asking Congress for $2.5 billion to contain the virus. Of the $2.5 billion request, $1.5 billion represents new funding.
Several countries including South Korea, Italy and Iran have also enacted strict emergency measures and raised health alert levels as cases continue to mount. The South Korean government reported 144 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing its national tally to 977 with ten deaths.
There are now 77,658 confirmed cases and 2,663 deaths in mainland China, after authorities there reported 508 new cases and 74 deaths. Iran, meanwhile, says the virus has claimed 15 lives and infected at least 50 people since it was first detected in the nation last week.
Home Depot, Macy’s, and Salesforce earnings
In other news, shares of Home Depot (NYSE: HD) are rising after the home improvement retailer reported upbeat fourth quarter results before the bell today. The company posted adjusted earnings of $2.28 per share and revenue of $25.78 billion.
Analysts had forecast earnings of $2.10 per share on revenue of $25.77 billion. At the time of writing, the stock was up $4.90, or 2.04% to $244.60 in premarket trade.
Other key earnings to watch today include Macy’s (NYSE: M), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI), RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL), and Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE).
