Futures slip on fears of new wave of coronavirus cases

[May 11, 2020]  By Medha Singh

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dipped on Monday following a strong week of gains for Wall Street, as investors turned cautious about a second wave of coronavirus infections with several countries reopening economies.

Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> and Chevron Corp <CVX.N> fell more than 1% in premarket trading, as oil prices tumbled after Germany and South Korea reported a surge in COVID-19 cases after easing lockdowns. [O/R]

Battered cruise operators and airlines including Carnival Corp <CCL.N>, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd <NCLH.N>, American Airlines Group Inc <AAL.O> and United Airlines Holdings Inc <UAL.O> were also among the early decliners.

Hopes of a pickup in business activity powered a Wall Street rally last week, with the Nasdaq <.IXIC> recouping all its losses for 2020 as investors looked past dire economic data, including a historic 20.5 million plunge in jobs in April.

However, the benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX> is still more than 13% below its February record high and analysts have warned of another selloff as macroeconomic data gets worse, foreshadowing a deep and lasting global recession.

After financial markets began pricing in negative U.S. interest rates for the first time ever last week, all eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's outlook on the economy at a webcast event on Wednesday.

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, U.S., April 26, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

At 06:34 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were down 156 points, or 0.64%, S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were down 19.25 points, or 0.66% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were down 32.5 points, or 0.35%.

SPDR S&P 500 ETFs <SPY.P> were down 0.39%.

The S&P 500 index <.SPX> closed up 1.69% at 2,929.8​ on Friday.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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