By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are set to push higher Tuesday, as investors react to signs the coronavirus outbreak may be peaking while maintaining a degree of caution ahead of the start of the new earnings season.
At 7:35 AM ET (1135 GMT), futures for the S&P 500 traded 29 points, or 1.1%, higher, futures for theNasdaq up 110 points, or 1.3%. The Dow futures contract rose 292 points, or 1.3%.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the U.S. is approaching 600,000, while over 23,000 people have died, but talk is now turning to when states will start reopening their economies.
At least 1,500 new U.S. fatalities were reported on Monday, below last week's running tally of roughly 2,000 deaths every 24 hours. Likewise, the number of additional confirmed cases counted on Monday, about 23,000, was well below last week's trend of 30,000 to 50,000 new cases a day. However, Monday numbers have dipped, only to rise again as the collection of data from the weekend was completed.
Eyes are now turning to an earnings season that kicks off in earnest Tuesday, starting with a pair of big banks .JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) both issued results before the bell, JPMorgan reporting a 68% slump in first-quarter profit as the coronavirus forced the largest U.S. bank to boost reserves against a wave of potential loan defaults.
Wells Fargo is seen earning 61 cents per share with revenue of about $19.4 billion, although consensus forecasts are vulnerable to being rapidly overtaken by events.
Elsewhere, drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported a healthy first quarter and raised its dividend, helped by increased demand for its pharmaceuticals.
After the bell, United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) is expected to report a loss of $2.29 per share for the quarter, with revenue coming in at about $8.4 billion.
Additionally, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) will be in the spotlight after the oil giant borrowed $9.5 billion in the U.S. corporate bond market on Monday, building up a war chest of cash amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Oil prices have edged lower Tuesday as the deal reached over Easter by the world’s major oil producers to cut output by 9.7 million barrels per day in May and June failed to convince.
The American Petroleum Institute will report its measure of U.S. oil inventories after the bell, giving traders a glimpse into the extent of the demand destruction. Last month it reported a rise in crude stockpiles of nearly 12 million barrels.
At 7:35 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 2.1% lower at $21.94 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 0.6% to $31.54.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,760.40/oz, while EUR/USD traded at $1.0948, up 0.3%.