US STOCKS-Futures jump with focus on earnings, easing lockdowns

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* Dow up 1.18% , S&P up 1.05% , Nasdaq up 1.11%

By C Nivedita
April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures climbed higher
on Tuesday ahead of the next round of quarterly earnings
reports, with investors also keenly looking at the safety of
reopening economies hit hard by the coronavirus-induced
shutdowns.
Wall Street kicked off the week on a strong note Monday as
several U.S. states allowed businesses to reopen after a near
total halt in activity to contain the outbreak. Powered by a raft of U.S. monetary and fiscal stimulus, all
three major stock indexes are now within 20% of their record
closing highs, but analysts warn of further losses as economic
data foreshadows a deep global recession.
Consumer confidence figures for April due later in the day
are expected to slide further from near three-year lows hit in
March, as widespread production halts put millions of Americans
out of work.
Investors are also waiting for a two-day Federal Reserve
policy meeting that kicks off on Tuesday, although expectations
are low for more central bank easing at this time. Southwest Airlines LUV.N jump-started first-quarter
reports for the day with its first quarterly loss in nine years,
but shares rose 3.4% as it said its average daily cash burn will
slow in the second quarter. Drugmakers Merck & Co MRK.N and Pfizer Inc PFE.N and
industrial conglomerate 3M Co MMM.N are also scheduled to
report results before the bell, while Google parent Alphabet Inc
GOOGL.O , Ford Motor Co F.N and Starbucks Corp SBUX.O are
among the high profile companies reporting after markets close.
At 05:41 a.m. EDT, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 283 points,
or 1.18%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 30 points, or 1.05%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 98.25 points, or 1.11%.
SPDR S&P 500 ETFs SPY.P rose 1.07%.
The S&P 500 index .SPX closed up 1.47% at 2,878.48​ on
Monday.