By Devik Jain
(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday after drugmakers Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech said a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was shown to have a neutralizing effect against the new Omicron coronavirus variant in a laboratory test.
Shares of Pfizer turned 0.8% higher in premarket trading. The drugmakers added that, if needed, they can deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022.
Travel stocks recouped earlier declines, with Norwegian Cruise Line and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) rising 2.6% and 2.4%, respectively.
Futures tracking U.S. stock indexes had pared gains earlier in the day after reports said Britain could implement tougher COVID-19 measures, including advice to work from home, as early as Thursday in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.
The Omicron variant has been reported in 57 nations and the number of patients needing hospitalization is likely to rise as it spreads, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
Wall Street swung wildly last week as investors fretted that the spread of the new variant could force countries to lay down new restrictions, upending a global recovery at a time when central banks around the world are contemplating a move to pre-pandemic policy environment.
At 7:05 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 173 points, or 0.48%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 20.75 points, or 0.44%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 62.25 points, or 0.38%.
The Nasdaq closed strongly over 3% on Tuesday as market participants piled onto beaten-down technology stocks.
Big technology stocks continued their momentum, with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) up between 0.3% and 0.7%.