By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are set to open higher Wednesday, bouncing after the hefty two-day selloff, as investors welcomed the news of more Federal aid to bolster the battered economy.
At 07:10 AM ET (1110 GMT), S&P 500 futures traded 34 points, or 1.3%, higher, Nasdaq futures up 94 points, or 1.1%. The Dow futures contract rose 255 points, or 1.1%.
The equity markets have seen a severe selloff over the last couple of days, hurt by the turmoil surrounding the oil market, with the Dow losing over 1,100 points, or 5%. That said, all three major indices are still on course to post their best month since June.
The Senate signed off on a $484 billion coronavirus aid package for small businesses late Tuesday, the second for a sector of the economy that has been hit hard by the pandemic, shedding millions of jobs. It also included additional help for hospitals and virus testing.
The bill will now be handed to the House of Representatives, which could vote on it as early as Thursday.
In corporate news, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) will be in the spotlight after it reported a massive jump of 15.77 million in new subscribers late Tuesday, more than double expected, as viewers tuned in amid the coronavirus shutdown.
However, some of the gloss was removed by cautious comments from CEO Reed Hastings who suggested subscriptions could cool in the next few quarters. Netflix shares, up over 30% year-to-date, fell 0.9% premarket.
Shares in Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) gained 4.6% premarket after the restaurant chain said after the close Tuesday that digital sales more than doubled in March, helping it report positive same-store sales growth despite the country’s social-distancing measures.
Shares in Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) rose 5.6% premarket following a report in the Wall Street Journal that the online travel giant was close to selling a stake to private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Silver Lake Partners, resulting in an infusion of around $1 billion.
The oil market has stabilized to a certain extent Wednesday, although at a much lower level due to extraordinary oversupply.
Inventories at the biggest U.S. storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, are at the highest since 2017 and are likely to rise further. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported that crude stockpiles rose 13.2 million barrels last week and the official Energy Information Administration figures are due later on Wednesday.
TheCrude Oil WTI June contract traded 1.4% lower at $11.41 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 1.4% to $19.26, having fallen to its lowest level since June 1999 at $15.99.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 2% to $1,722.65/oz, while EUR/USD traded at $1.0875, up 0.2%.