Futures rise at the end of stormy week

[April 24, 2020]    By C Nivedita

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures gained on Friday with bargain hunters returning at the end of a tumultuous week marked by a record collapse in oil prices and growing evidence of the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.

A man crosses a nearly deserted Nassau Street in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) 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 3, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The S&P 500 <.SPX> ended slightly lower on Thursday as a report raised doubts about a potential treatment for COVID-19 and as data confirmed a near halt in business activity.

With the outbreak wiping out all the U.S. jobs created since the global financial crisis, investors are tracking comments from Corporate America for signs of a revival in production as some states start easing lockdown measures.

Denting expectations, a report said Boeing Co <BA.N> was planning to cut 787 Dreamliner output by about half and announce job cuts in its first-quarter earnings report next week.

Analysts expect a 14.1% decline in S&P 500 first-quarter earnings after a mixed bag of reports from U.S. banks and consumer discretionary firms so far.

Credit card issuer American Express Co <AXP.N> and Verizon Communications <VZ.N> are slated to issue quarterly reports later in the day.

At 06:19 a.m. EDT, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 127 points, or 0.54%, S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were up 17.5 points, or 0.63% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were up 35 points, or 0.4%.

SPDR S&P 500 ETFs <SPY.P> were up 0.4%.

The S&P 500 index <.SPX> closed down 0.05% at 2,797.8​ on Thursday.

(Reporting by C Nivedita in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.