Stock futures higher as oil prices rise

[July 03, 2018]   By Amy Caren Daniel

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday, boosted by a jump in oil prices and early gains in big technology stocks.

Oil prices climbed more than 1 percent after Libya declared force majeure on significant amounts of its supply, though rising overall U.S. and OPEC output dragged on markets. [O/R]

But the specter of trade turbulence continued to loom over the markets, with President Donald Trump on Monday warning the World Trade Organization of "doing something" if United States is not treated properly.

Investors are wary of a July 6 deadline when Washington is set to impose tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods, with Beijing expected to retaliate with tariffs on U.S. goods.

Wall Street, however, was set for another firmer session as investors positioned for strong Silicon Valley earnings before the reporting season starts next week.

At 7:23 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 103 points, or 0.42 percent. S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.5 points, or 0.35 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 37 points, or 0.52 percent.

Trading volumes are expected to be light as the exchanges close at 1 p.m. EDT ahead of the July 4 holiday.

Shares of Netflix gained 0.6 percent in premarket trading after a Wall Street analyst forecast the company would beat second-quarter earnings estimates due to its original series.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Other heavyweight technology stocks were also trading higher, but Facebook declined 1.8 percent on a Washington Post report that the federal probe into the Cambridge Analytica data breach had been broadened.

Tesla fell 0.7 percent and was set to add to its 2.3 percent drop from Monday when the electric carmaker said it met its Model 3 production goal but failed to convince investors it could continue to do so.

Other automakers will also be in focus as they will report sales for June. On the economic front, May factory orders are expected to have remained unchanged, after decreasing 0.8 percent in April. The data is due at 10 a.m. ET.

(Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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