LDN - Business

Futures bounce after two days of oil-led rout

[April 22, 2020] By C Nivedita and Shreyashi Sanyal

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rebounded on Wednesday as upbeat quarterly earnings reports lifted investor sentiment following a two-day selloff due to a record crash in oil prices, even as companies warned of more pain in the coming months.

The benchmark S&P 500 index <.SPX> fell nearly 5% in the first two days of the week as May WTI contracts plunged below zero and the benchmark Brent <LCOc1> hovered near 1999-lows, triggering alarm about the hit to the global economy from a near halt in business activity.

Trillions of dollars in stimulus have helped Wall Street recover from its March lows and the U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved another $484 billion in relief, sending the bill to the House of Representatives for a final vote later this week.

Texas Instruments Inc <TXN.O> headed higher in thin premarket trading as it reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and said a strong inventory allowed it to be prepared for the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Netflix Inc <NFLX.O>, deemed a "stay-at-home" stock as the wide restrictions boost demand for online streaming services, more than doubled its own projections for new customers in the first quarter.

However, its shares fell 1.3% as it forecast a weaker second half if the lockdown measures were to be lifted.

Governors of about half a dozen U.S. states have pushed ahead with plans to partially reopen for business despite warnings by some health officials that doing so could trigger a new surge in the coronavirus cases.

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The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is seen in the financial district of lower Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York, U.S., April 13, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Fast-casual chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc <CMG.N> late on Tuesday reported soaring digital and home delivery sales and said it had enough cash and liquidity to get through the next year.

Investors will next be looking at Delta Airlines <DAL.N> and AT&T <T.N> earnings reports later in the day.

At 06:26 a.m. EDT, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 252 points, or 1.1%, S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were up 32 points, or 1.17% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were up 91.75 points, or 1.09%.

SPDR S&P 500 ETFs <SPY.P> were up 1.32%.

The S&P 500 index <.SPX> closed down 3.07% at 2,736.56 on Tuesday.

(Reporting by C. Nivedita and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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