Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Monday, with Dow futures surging more than 200 points after the U.S. administration downplayed concerns over the risk of a recession, insisting its trade war with China was doing no damage to the U.S. economy.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 247 points, or 0.9% by 06:49 AM ET (10:49 GMT), S&P 500 futures rose 27 points, or 0.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 81 points, or 1.08%.
The gains came after Wall Street ended last week in a more upbeat mood, buoyed by a rebound in bond yields, which eased fears over the economic outlook.
But investors were continuing to keep a wary eye on economic data and developments in the Sino-U.S. trade war.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump dismissed concerns over the possibility of a U.S. recession.
“I don’t think we’re having a recession,” Trump said. “We’re doing tremendously well. Our consumers are rich. I gave a tremendous tax cut and they’re loaded up with money.”
His comments came after the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index hit its lowest level in seven months on Friday.
Trump was less optimistic than his aides on striking a trade deal with China, saying that while he believed China was ready to come to an agreement, "I'm not ready to make a deal yet."
He hinted that the White House would like to see Beijing resolve ongoing protests in Hong Kong first.
Markets were also awaiting a decision expected to arrive later Monday over whether the government will allow Huawei Technologies to buy supplies from U.S. firms.
Several media outlets reported that the U.S. Commerce Department will grant a “temporary general license” that will allow business to continue for another 90 days. However, Trump appeared to contradict that by saying that he didn't want U.S. companies to deal with Huawei at all, citing national security concerns.
On a light day for economic data, investors were looking ahead to earnings reports from Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL), the parent company for MAC, Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox and other premium cosmetics brands along with Chinese search engine giant Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU).
Elsewhere, the general rise in risk appetite helped U.S. crude oil futures to a 0.8% rise, while gold futures retreated 0.9%.