US STOCKS-Wall St futures jump after Biden's Super Tuesday surge

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* Biden sweeps South in Democratic presidential primaries
* Futures up: Dow 2.36%, S&P 2.03%, Nasdaq 1.94%
* Nordstrom tumbles after disappointing 2020 profit forecast

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Sanjana Shivdas
March 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for strong gains on
Wednesday after a near sweep for Joe Biden in the Super Tuesday
Democratic primaries, with the Dow Jones on course to claw back
most of its heavy losses from the previous session.
The Dow .DJI was set to open 600 points higher after
losing nearly 3% on Tuesday as an emergency interest rate cut by
the Federal Reserve amplified fears about the extent of the
economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak.
Fears of a global slide into recession, and a resulting
collapse in U.S. corporate earnings this year, have knocked $3.1
trillion off the value of major U.S. companies in the past 10
days.
But the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX , down in eight of the past
nine sessions, was also on course to open higher, bolstered by
Biden's return to front runner status over self-declared
socialist Bernie Sanders.
"The markets will see Biden's success as helping to
eliminate what they see as the worst option, a Sanders
presidency," said Chris Nixon Cox, Chief Global Strategist at
BrightSphere Investment Group.
Shares of health insurers UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N ,
Centene Corp CNC.N , Humana Inc HUM.N and Cigna Corp CI.N
surged between 8.5% and 10.7% in premarket trading.
All have suffered in recent months as Sanders and his
"Medicare for All" proposal, which would eliminate private
health insurance altogether, gained credence.
By 8:58 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 611 points, or
2.36%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 60.75 points, or 2.03%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 166.75 points, or 1.94%.
Adding to the upbeat mood, the ADP National Employment
Report showed U.S. private payrolls rose more than expected in
February. The data is considered a precursor to the more
comprehensive jobs report on Friday.
All eyes will also be on the Fed's beige book report, which
will offer the first snapshot from the central bank's business
contacts on how deeply the coronavirus is impacting the domestic
economy. General Electric Co GE.N was up 2% as the industrial
conglomerate stuck to its 2020 targets after forecasting a hit
of just $300 million to $500 million to its first-quarter cash
flow due to the virus outbreak.
Upscale retailer Nordstrom JWN.N slid 8.5%% after
forecasting a 2020 profit largely below market expectations.