Futures bounce on upbeat China data, trade hopes

[April 03, 2019]   By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, indicating Wall Street would resume its rally following a pause in the previous session, supported by fresh signs of recovery in China's economy and optimism over trade talks with Beijing.

World stocks were at its highest in six months after data showed the China services sector rose to a 14-month high in March. The report which allayed fears about a global economic slowdown comes on the heels of upbeat manufacturing data in China and the United States.

Comments from White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Tuesday that the United States and China "expect to make more headway" in trade talks this week fired up hopes of a resolution to the months-long trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Chipmakers, which get a large part of their revenue from China, were higher in premarket trading. Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Micron Technology Inc and Intel Corp rose between 1% and 3.8%, while semiconductor stocks in Europe and Asia also rallied.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index has surged nearly 24% this year on hopes of a trade deal and strengthening global demand for chips.

At 7:14 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 113 points, or 0.43%. S&P 500 e-minis were up 14.5 points, or 0.51% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 44.75 points, or 0.6%.

Wall Street came under pressure on Tuesday after three days of gains, but the S&P 500 closed at a near six-month high and is now 2.2% away from a record high hit in September.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

Investors will be on the look out for the private jobs report and services sector numbers for March.

The National Employment Report by ADP at 8:15 a.m. ET is expected to show that U.S. companies hired 170,000 workers in March, after hiring 183,000 workers in February.

All eyes will be on the March nonfarm payrolls data on Friday, which is expected to show that the U.S. economy added 180,000 jobs in March, from only 20,000 jobs in February.

The Institute for Supply Management's report is likely to show that its services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) came in at 58 points for March, down from 59.7 in February. The data is set to release at 10 a.m. ET.

Among other stocks, GameStop Corp fell 11.4% after the videogame retailer forecast current-quarter profit below analysts' estimates.

Caterpillar Inc dropped 1.1% on a report that Deutsche Bank downgraded the company's stock to a "hold" rating.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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