Stock market news live: Stock futures surge, Nasdaq futures hit upper trading limit – Yahoo Finance

Posted on March 20, 2020

Stock futures turned higher Friday morning, following global equities higher as investors weighed a rising case count from the coronavirus against massive stimulus measures from policymakers globally as they try to mitigate economic damage from the outbreak.

Each of the three major indices were higher, led by the Nasdaq, which surged enough to hit its upper trading limit during the overnight session. At the highs of the overnight session, the S&P 500 was up 4.6%, and the Dow and Nasdaq were each up about 5% before paring some gains. All three major indices were up at least 2.09% as of 7:35 a.m. ET.

If the gains holding into the regular session, it will be the first time the S&P 500 posts back-to-back sessions of gains in more than a month.

The early morning gains come after stocks staged a modest recovery during the regular trading session Thursday, as investors scooped up technology shares that had fallen precipitously amid the broader market’s recent declines. Energy stocks also outperformed, with U.S. crude oil prices posting their best single-day percentage gain on record just a day after falling to the lowest price in more than 18 years.

While the gains offer a momentary respite after weeks of striking declines, most market participants anticipate further volatility as impending corporate earnings results and economic data begin to incorporate the fuller effects of the coronavirus outbreak. Already a growing number of companies have tossed their full-year outlooks out the window, giving time assess the impact of the ever-evolving health crisis.

As companies cut costs and reduce workers’ hours amid store closures, economists are bracing for a surge in joblessness and slump in consumer spending to take a blow to the previously booming U.S. labor market and services economy. A report Thursday showed new unemployment insurance claims jumped to the highest level in more than two years last week.

The number of coronavirus cases climbed above 245,000 globally on Friday, including more than 14,000 in the U.S. A day earlier, the number of deaths in Italy overtook those in China, the original epicenter of the outbreak, further escalating concerns that the pandemic remains far from being contained globally. The U.S. State Department Thursday afternoon issued an advisory urging U.S. citizens not to travel internationally at all amid the coronavirus outbreak.

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