US STOCKS-Wall St set to open higher on hopes U.S. outbreak nearing peak

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* Top Democrats back emergency business funds
* U.S. posts record single-day jump in coronavirus deaths
* Tesla rises on furloughs
* Futures up: Dow 1.02%, S&P 1.05%, Nasdaq 1.16%

(Adds details, comment; Updates prices)
By Uday Sampath Kumar
April 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on
Wednesday on hopes that the coronavirus outbreak in the United
States was nearing its peak and expectations Congress will push
through hundreds of billions more in emergency support for the
battered economy.
Stock index futures moved between gains and losses in early
trading, continuing the volatility from the closing stages of
Tuesday's session, when a tumble in oil prices wiped out early
gains in a market closely tracking the latest on layoffs,
cutbacks and losses.
President Donald Trump said late on Tuesday that the United
States might be getting to the top of the "curve" of the
outbreak, even as New York and several other states posted their
highest number of daily virus-related fatalities. "Traders are trying to pick a bottom in shares and
scientists are trying to pick the peak in the pandemic. Both
exercises typically result in a lot of false starts before the
real thing," Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital
Group said.
Sentiment also got a lift as Democratic leaders in Congress
threw their support behind interim emergency funding, a day
after the Trump administration asked lawmakers for $250 billion
in aid for small businesses hit by the pandemic. The package would add to the $2.3 trillion in stimulus
already approved and meant to make up for the wages and incomes
lost after Americans were ordered to stay home to control the
spread of the virus.
Those measures have brought the economy to a virtual halt,
with the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX down nearly 22%, or about $6
trillion in market value, from its record high in mid-February,
despite the recent gains.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O on Tuesday became the latest U.S. company
to furlough staff and cut salaries during a shut down of its
U.S. production facilities. The electric-car maker's shares rose
nearly 2% in premarket trading.
Corporate earnings season starts next week with earnings
from Wall Street banks, and companies are expected to outline
drastic measures as they look to bolster dwindling cash
reserves.
At 08:36 a.m. EDT, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 230 points,
or 1.02%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 27.75 points, or 1.05%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 93.25 points, or 1.16%.
Shares of UPS UPS.N and FedEx FDX.N rose up 4.6% to 6.5%
after Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O said it would suspend its U.S.
shipping service.