Wall Street was set to open sharply higher on Wednesday as investors hoped for recovery from the COVID-19-fueled slump amid signs of more stimulus for ailing sectors, while home improvement retailer Lowe’s jumped on upbeat quarterly results.
The home improvement chain rose 5.5% in premarket trading after posting higher first-quarter same-store sales as coronavirus lockdowns led people to spend more on home remodelling and repairs.
The U.S. stock market has now rallied more than 30% from March lows on unprecedented stimulus, but gains have been limited this month as traders digest mixed headlines on progress in developing a coronavirus vaccine.
Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Apple, Netflix Inc and Google-parent Alphabet Inc rose between 0.9% and 2.6%, while Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co gained about 2%.
Delta Air Lines Inc rose 3.1% after its chief executive officer said he was confident travel will return in the next 12 to 18 months. United Airlines Holdings gained 3.5%.
Immunotherapy company Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc surged 23.3% after saying its experimental coronavirus vaccine was shown to produce protective antibodies and immune system responses in mice and guinea pigs.
MacDailyNews Note: Speaking of recovery, in premarket trading, shares of Apple are currently up $3.436 (+1.107%) to $316.60.