Futures inch higher after tech-led slide

[April 03, 2018]   By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures signaled a higher opening for Wall Street on Tuesday, supported by slight gains in beaten-down technology stocks, but Amazon remained on track to open lower after dragging down the markets on Monday.

Facebook, Netflix and Alphabet rose marginally in premarket trading after steep declines in recent weeks.

The main U.S. indexes wiped out their gains for the year on Monday and dipped below their key support levels following a selloff in technology stocks and renewed trade war fears.

China's ambassador to the United States said Beijing will take counter-measures of the same proportion and scale if Washington imposes more tariffs on Chinese goods from a trade probe, state television reported on Tuesday.

The Trump administration is expected sometime this week to publish a list of Chinese goods that could be subjected to new U.S. tariffs.

Amazon.com Inc was down 1 percent premarket, after closing down more than 5 percent on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump's again criticized the online retailer.

At 7:05 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 80 points, or 0.34 percent, with 39,200 contracts changing hands.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

S&P 500 e-minis were up 11.75 points, or 0.46 percent, with 166,997 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 33.75 points, or 0.53 percent, on volume of 50,281 contracts.

On Tuesday, investors will be able to buy and sell shares in the Swedish music streaming service Spotify in the New York Stock Exchange's first-ever direct floor listing.

Tesla shares rose 1.3 percent after a company spokesperson said founder Elon Musk was focusing on production of Model 3, a cheaper vehicle that analysts see as crucial to the electric automaker's long-term profitability. The stock had closed down 5 percent on Monday.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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