(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures jumped on Tuesday, as strong earnings from Home Depot and United Airlines added to an upbeat global mood driven by hopes of easing crackdown on tech firms and COVID-19 in China.
Big technology and growth companies led the rebound in premarket trading, with Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Tesla Inc up between 1.8% and 3.4%.
Home Depot Inc added 3.7% after it raised its full-year sales forecast as demand for home improvement tools and building materials holds up.
United Airlines Holdings Inc rose 4.7% after the carrier raised its current-quarter revenue forecast, underscoring a boom in travel demand.
However, Dow component Walmart Inc fell 4% after the retail giant cut its annual profit forecast, signaling a bigger hit to margins from surging costs.
U.S. retail sales data for April is due at 08:30 a.m. ET.
In Europe and Asia, shares jumped as Shanghai achieved the long-awaited milestone of three straight days with no new COVID-19 cases outside quarantine zones, raising hopes that restrictions might be eased. [MKTS/GLOB]
Meanwhile, U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms rose as a meeting between Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and tech executives, currently underway, lifted expectations that Beijing’s tech sector regulatory crackdown might ease.
A positive first-quarter earnings season has been overshadowed by worries about the Ukraine war, soaring inflation, COVID-19 lockdown in China and aggressive policy tightening by central banks.
The S&P 500 has declined 3% and the Nasdaq 5.5% so far in May, due to losses in growth stocks.
A slew of Federal Reserve policymakers, including Chair Jerome Powell, are scheduled to speak later in the day and their comments would be parsed for clues on the path of future interest rate hikes.
Traders now see a nearly 84% probability of a 50-basis point rate hike in June.
At 06:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 469 points, or 1.46%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 68 points, or 1.7%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 251 points, or 2.05%.
Among other stocks, Advanced Micro Devices gained 4% after Piper Sandler upgraded the semiconductor designer’s stock to “overweight”.
Citigroup jumped 5.3% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a nearly $3 billion investment in the U.S. lender.
Take-Two Interactive Software gained 7.4% after the Grand Theft Auto” publisher posted upbeat fourth-quarter profit.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
