Fed’s Powell opens door to potential rate cuts at Jackson Hole
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* Snap Inc rises after rating upgrade
* Oil companies track crude prices higher
* Futures down: Dow down 0.1%, S&P down 0.1%, Nasdaq flat
(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
April 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set for
a muted open on Tuesday as investors paused after the S&P 500
and the Dow closed at record highs on renewed recovery hopes.
The S&P 500 has risen for three straight sessions with
volatility index .VIX retreating to pre-pandemic lows, driven
by scores of fiscal stimulus and swift vaccinations in the
United States.
"The reasons for optimism are the COVID winter is coming to
an end and with the vaccines we can see the light at the end of
the tunnel. There seems to be a spring in the economy," said
Darren Schuringa, chief executive officer of ASYMmetric ETFs in
New York.
"We're seeing broad-based strength and that's a positive.
This trend that economically sensitive sectors outperform
broader markets will continue if the economy continues to
expand."
Tech and other growth stocks have awakened after lagging in
recent weeks behind so-called value stocks expected to
outperform as the economy emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now about 3% from its February
record high after falling as much as 12% from that level.
Progress in President Joe Biden's new infrastructure
proposal and the start of the earnings season in the coming
weeks could dictate the course of stock markets, analysts said.
Later in the day, investors will turn to a reading of U.S.
job openings for February. The data follows blowout employment
as well as service sector reports for March.
Oil firms Exxon Mobil XOM.N , Marathon Oil MRO.N ,
Occidental Petroleum OXY.N and Devon Energy DVN.N rose
between 0.44% and 1.34% premarket as crude prices gained. O/R
At 8:31 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 42 points,
or 0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 4.5 points, or 0.11%
and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 2.75 points, or 0.02%.
Snap Inc SNAP.N rose 2.8% after Atlantic Equities upgraded
its rating on the photo-messaging app owner's shares to
"overweight" from "neutral". Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N added 2.6% as it
said it would begin sailing outside the United States from the
Caribbean and Greek Isles in July, restarting trips after a
year-long hiatus brought on by the pandemic.