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* Futures up: Dow 0.19%, S&P 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.27%
By Medha Singh
Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures gained on Tuesday
ahead of the release of manufacturing data as investors looked
for fresh signs of domestic demand in the world's largest
economy amid softening global growth.
The ISM's purchasing managers index (PMI) data, due at 10:00
a.m. ET (1400 GMT), is likely to show the manufacturing sector
rebounded to 50.1 in September after contracting for the first
time in 3-1/2 years to 49.1 in August.
It comes on the heels of euro zone data, which showed
manufacturing activity in the bloc contracted at its steepest
rate in almost seven years. Despite a prolonged U.S.-China trade war, which poses the
biggest risk to global growth, confidence in the domestic
economy is one of the factors that has helped the benchmark S&P
500 .SPX climb 18.7% so far this year.
A crucial jobs report on Friday is expected to shed further
light on U.S. economic growth. The Federal Reserve is also
looking at these data to determine whether it should cut
interest rates again this year.
At 7:06 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 51 points, or
0.19%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 5.75 points, or 0.19% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 20.75 points, or 0.27%.
Philip Morris International Inc PM.N gained 1.8% in
premarket trading after reports that Bank of America Merrill
Lynch upgraded the cigarette maker's stock to "buy" from
"neutral."
As the final quarter of 2019 kicks off, investors will be
focusing on a range of factors, beginning with the high-stakes
Sino-U.S. trade talks in early October, corporate earnings and
the Fed's next policy meeting.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said on
Tuesday he expected the Fed funds rate to increase slightly over
the next few years as the U.S. economy grew and inflation
accelerated.