US STOCKS-Futures jump on Trump's restart plan, coronavirus drug hopes

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* Futures jump: Dow 2.92%, S&P 2.73%, Nasdaq 2.06%

By Medha Singh
April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures jumped on
Friday as President Donald Trump laid out plans to re-open the
economy from coronavirus-induced lockdowns and on reports of
encouraging data on a drug to potentially treat COVID-19.
Gilead Sciences Inc 's GILD.O shares surged 11.9% in
premarket trading following a media report that patients with
severe symptoms of the disease had responded positively to its
experimental drug, remdesivir. Boeing Co BA.N soared 9% on plans to resume commercial
airplane production next week in Washington state after
suspending operations last month due to the pandemic.
The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX ended Thursday slightly higher
as demand for online streaming services and home delivery of
goods during the stay-at-home restrictions powered Amazon.com
Inc AMZN.O and Netflix Inc NFLX.O to record highs.
The index has now rallied about 28% from a March trough
following a raft of global stimulus and on hopes the shutdown
would be eased with signs of a plateauing in new coronavirus
cases.
Late on Thursday, Trump announced new guidelines to re-open
the economy in a staggered, three-stage process, but the plan
was a set of recommendations rather than orders and left the
decision largely up to state governors. Still, analysts said investor sentiment remained cautious
with readings of economic indicators getting worse as global
supply chains remain shut and large-scale production halts put
millions out of work.
U.S. jobless claims have now topped 20 million in the past
month, while China's economy contracted for the first time in
nearly three decades in the first quarter. After U.S. banks kicked off the quarterly earnings season
with painful forecasts for 2020, investors will look to reports
from consumer products maker Procter & Gamble PG.N and world's
top oilfield services provider Schlumberger SLB.N on Friday.
At 6:04 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 684 points, or
2.92%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 76 points, or 2.73% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 179.75 points, or 2.06%.
SPDR S&P 500 ETFs SPY.P rose 2.75%.