Futures Hike as Investors Bet on Economy Re-Opening

U.S. stock futures were higher in early morning trading on Wednesday, following two positive sessions in the equity markets.

Futures for Dow Jones Industrials gained 142 points, or 0.6%, early Wednesday to 23,903.

Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 18.25 points, or 0.6%, at 2,876.50.

Futures for the NASDAQ Composite shot up 64 points, or 0.7%, to 8,988.25.

Stocks which stand to benefit from a reopening of the economy were also higher in the pre-market Wednesday. Gap shares rose 3.6%. Airlines and cruise lines were higher.

The moves came as investors weighed the consequences of a growing number of states beginning to reopen their economies in the first two weeks of May.

President Donald Trump acknowledged on Tuesday that “there'll be more death” from coronavirus but argued that not reopening businesses would also cost people their lives in other ways such as drug overdoses and suicides.

The fast-spreading coronavirus — which has inflected at least 1.1 million Americans and killed more than 70,000, according to Johns Hopkins University — has seen a leveling off of news cases in the U.S.

Stocks shook off more poor earnings. Disney reported a 58% drop in sales from theme parks and cruises but is expected to boost engagement on its newly-launched streaming service, Disney+. Shares of the media giant ticked lower in early trading.

California will permit clothing stores, bookstores and flower shops to reopen for curbside pickup as soon as Friday while New York plans to ease restrictions on manufacturers, construction, and select retailers next week.

A report on private payrolls from ADP on Wednesday is expected to show 22 million jobs lost in April, according to economists polled by Dow Jones.

Overseas, markets in Hong Kong continued to rise, with the Hang Sang index gaining 1.1%, while those in Tokyo remained shut down for holiday.

Oil prices sank 41 cents to $24.15 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices dipped $2.80 to $1,707.80 U.S. an ounce.