Futures rise as Big Tech gains ground

[February 09, 2022]  (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, with high-growth stocks gaining as a recent rally in Treasury yields paused, while investors took comfort from upbeat earnings reports and signs of easing tensions in Ukraine.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reversed early losses and ended sharply higher on Tuesday, lifted by Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp and banking stocks that were boosted by a jump in Treasury yields ahead of a key inflation reading this week.

Global stock markets were on a firm footing on Wednesday, with the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield slipping from multi-year highs hit in the previous session.

Megacap names such as Meta Platforms, Google-owner Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc Tesla Inc Apple and Microsoft were up between 0.8% and 1.6% in premarket trading.

Growth and technology companies have been among the worst hit this year on rate hike fears that prompted investors to move away from companies with rich valuations. The Nasdaq fell nearly 9% in January and is down marginally so far this month.

Investors are awaiting consumer prices data on Thursday for clues on the Federal Reserve's plans to hike interest rates, particularly after an unexpectedly strong jobs report last week raised concerns of a more aggressive move by the central bank. Inflation is forecast at a four-decade high of 7.3%.

High U.S. inflation may get even higher before subsiding in the face of Fed action and as supply chain strains recede, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said on Tuesday.

At 06:39 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 186 points, or 0.53%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 31.75 points, or 0.7%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 139.75 points, or 0.95%.

News about easing of tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine helped lift investor sentiment, along with upbeat earnings.

Enphase Energy jumped 19.0% on upbeat results, lifting other solar stocks like SunPower and SolarEdge Technologies, which rose 6.8% and 9.4% respectively.

CVS Health Corp slipped 0.3% after its earnings forecast for 2022 fell short of Wall Street expectations but quarterly results topped estimates.

Ride-hailing platform Lyft Inc fell 4.6% after providing downbeat outlook for the current quarter. Rival Uber Technologies Inc, down 0.5%, will be reporting later in the day.

Walt Disney Co and Barbie maker Mattel Inc are some other companies reporting quarterly results later in the day.

(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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