US STOCKS-Wall St set to jump as 3M, Pfizer earnings impress

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* 3M gains as mask demand surges
* Southwest posts first quarterly loss in nine years
* U.S. consumer confidence data due later in the day
* Fed to kick off two-day policy meeting
* Futures up: Dow 1.66%, S&P 500 1.44%, Nasdaq 1.06%

(Adds comments, updates prices)
By C Nivedita
April 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on
Tuesday after a round of quarterly earnings reports brought
upbeat signs from Pfizer and respiratory mask-maker 3M for
investors increasingly hopeful of a relaunch of business across
the economy.
3M Co MMM.N , the world's biggest maker of N95 respirator
masks, rose 4.8% in premarket trading after reporting
better-than-expected quarterly profit, although it suspended its
2020 forecast due to the health crisis. Drugmaker Pfizer Inc PFE.N reiterated its full-year
forecast and reported higher sales of its pneumonia vaccine as
physicians prescribed it to prevent infections caused by the
virus. Its shares gained 2.3%. Investors are now gearing up for one of the busiest weeks
for high profile tech-related earnings reports from the likes of
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Google-parent Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O ,
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and eBay Inc EBAY.O .
"This is going to be an important test for the market as
lots of businesses moved online following the lockdown," said
Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard in London.
"If these big heavyweights in the tech space don't deliver
on the expectations, then of course the rally we've seen over
the past few weeks (will) have to be questioned."
Wall Street has recovered more than 30% from its March lows,
rescued by aggressive stimulus efforts and, more recently, signs
that states were moving to let businesses reopen after a near
total halt in activity. Still, the benchmark S&P 500 index remains 17% away from
reclaiming a record high hit in February and analysts have
warned of further losses if a deep global recession, as many now
expect, sets in.
"It's a catch-22 sort of situation," said Adam Vettese,
analyst at investment platform eToro in London.
"The longer the lockdown, we could be in for worse economic
data because we are stifling the economy for longer. That said,
if we lift it too early and see a resurgence in cases, then also
we are in a bad situation, which could then lead to more bad
economic data."
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 watching a two-day Federal Reserve policy
meeting that kicks off on Tuesday, although expectations are low
for more central bank easing at this time. At 8:51 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 399 points, or
1.66%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 41.25 points, or 1.44%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 93.25 points, or 1.06%.
Harley-Davidson Inc HOG.N jumped 8.2% as it took more
steps to boost its cash reserves to deal with the drop in
motorcycle sales due to lockdowns. Elsewhere, the damage from the lockdowns continued to mount,
with Southwest Airlines LUV.N down 1.4% after reporting its
first quarterly loss in nine years due to the virtual halt in
global travel. Ford Motor Co F.N and Starbucks Corp SBUX.O are among
other big names reporting after markets close.
The CBOE volatility index .VIX , a measure of investor
anxiety, fell on Tuesday and hovered near two month lows,
indicating a risk-on sentiment.