LONDON: U.S. stock futures moved firmly higher on Tuesday, with investors waiting for earnings from prominent companies, including Dow components DuPont, United Technologies and Verizon.
Rallies in Asia and Europe also helped beef up U.S. stocks ahead of the open, in what was seen as continued optimism over China’s move on Sunday to stimulate its economy by cutting the reserve ratio for banks.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMM5, +0.44% gained 91 points, or 0.5%, to 18,034, while those S&P 500 index ESM5, +0.48% added 10.25 points, or 0.5%, to 2,101.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NQM5, +0.51% climbed 24 points, or 0.5%, to 4,431.50.
“It looks as though we will get another day of lackluster fundamentals, however the [reserve requirement ratio] cut by the PBOC is still pushing global equities sharply higher,” said Nour Al-Hammoury, chief market strategist at ADS Securities, in a note. “The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones futures are both up as they still price in the news from China.”
The benchmarks also put in solid performances on Monday on the back of better-than-expected earnings and the stimulus news from China.
