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US STOCKS-Wall St poised for higher open on China stimulus hopes, signs of slowing virus spread

Published 19/02/2020, 15:14
© Reuters.  US STOCKS-Wall St poised for higher open on China stimulus hopes, signs of slowing virus spread
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* Garmin climbs after upbeat revenue forecast

* China expected to cut benchmark interest rates

* Fed minutes to be released at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT)

* Futures up: Dow 0.34%, S&P 0.34%, Nasdaq 0.51%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)

By Medha Singh

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Wall street was set for a stronger open

on Wednesday as signs of slowing coronavirus infections and

expectations that China would take more measures to bolster its

virus-hit economy helped investors shake off worries stemming

from Apple's sales warning.

The number of new coronavirus cases dropped for the second

straight day in China although global health officials cautioned

it was too early to predict how the epidemic will play out and

many viewed the official data with skepticism.

MKTS/GLOB

China is widely expected to cut its benchmark lending rate

on Thursday after several fiscal and monetary measures as it

attempts to limit the damage from business shutdowns and travel

curbs on the world's second-largest economy.

"There are talks that China's central bank will cut

short-term interest rates tonight as they try to stimulate the

economy ... and that's why equity markets are trading a little

bit higher," said John Brady, senior vice president at R.J.

O'Brien & Associates in Chicago.

China's recent stimulus measures, confidence in the U.S.

economy and hopes that the damage from the outbreak will be

short-lived helped Wall Street's main indexes clinch fresh highs

last week.

"Market certainly believes that the worst of the economic

impact will be felt in the first quarter," Brady said, adding

that the more poorly the first-quarter economic data was, the

stronger the v-shaped bounce would be in the next two quarters

if the virus is contained.

U.S. stocks .DJI .SPX fell on Tuesday as a warning from

Apple Inc AAPL.O that it would be unable to meet its

current-quarter sales targets highlighted concerns about

disruptions to global supply chains.

However, many analysts saw the iPhone maker's forecast

update as a near-term problem. Apple shares were up 0.5% in

premarket trading.

At 8:48 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 98 points, or

0.34%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were 11.5 points, or 0.34%,

higher and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 49 points, or

0.51%.

Market participants now await the minutes of the U.S.

Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, where the central bank

pointed to continued moderate growth for the domestic economy

and said it was monitoring risks from the coronavirus outbreak.

Several Fed policymakers are also scheduled to speak before

the minutes are released at 2:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT).

Garmin Ltd GRMN.O rose 10.4% after the wearable fitness

devices maker forecast full-year revenue above analysts'

estimates.

Co-Diagnostics Inc CODX.O climbed 4.8% after the molecular

diagnostics company said it was moving towards obtaining

clearance from regulatory bodies to market and sell its

screening test for coronavirus.

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