US STOCKS-Futures creep higher as U.S. heads for longer shutdown

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* Futures up: Dow 0.08%, S&P 0.41%, Nasdaq 0.52%

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By Uday Sampath Kumar and Medha Singh
March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets inched higher on
Monday as President Donald Trump followed last week's passage of
$2 trillion in stimulus by extending his stay-at-home guidelines
until the end of April, leaving investors again guessing at the
growing economic impact.
The S&P 500 .SPX posted its biggest weekly percentage gain
in over a decade last week, while the Dow Jones .DJI its best
since 1938, thanks to the record $2.2 trillion in aid agreed by
officials.
All three major stock indexes, however, ended Friday more
than 3% lower after the United States overtook China as the
country with the most number of coronavirus cases.
The crisis has so far knocked $7.4 trillion off the value of
S&P 500 companies and without any clarity on how long it will
take to quell the outbreak, Wall Street's main indicators of
future volatility remain at high levels.
"There is no doubt that these financial packages can only go
so far when it comes to negating the economic impact of the
coronavirus," said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG in
London.
Trump on Sunday dropped a hotly criticized plan to get the
economy up and running again by mid-April, after a top medical
adviser said more than 100,000 Americans could die from the
coronavirus outbreak if mitigation measures were not successful.
JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N said on Saturday it expected
real U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to fall 10% in the first
quarter and plunge 25% in the second quarter.
The CBOE volatility index .VIX dipped on Monday, but was
still near levels far above those in 2018 and 2019. The prospect
of extended global shutdowns also sent U.S. crude prices below
$20 for the first time in 18 years. O/R
Abbott Laboratories ABT.N was the top gainer among S&P 500
components, rising nearly 11% after it won U.S. approval for a
diagnostic test that can detect coronavirus in minutes.
General Motors Co GM.N rose 6% as Trump praised the
automaker's ventilator production after he invoked emergency
powers to compel the manufacturing of badly needed equipment to
tackle the pandemic. At 07:11 a.m. EDT, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 17 points,
or 0.08%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 10.25 points, or 0.41%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 39.25 points, or 0.52%.