(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Futures up: Dow 0.2%, S&P 0.7%, Nasdaq 1.8%
By Medha Singh and Shashank Nayar
March 11 (Reuters) - Futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 index
jumped on Thursday as U.S. bond yields retreated to one-week
lows on ebbing concerns over a strong pick up in inflation,
while investors awaited data that is likely to show a dip in
weekly jobless claims.
Mega-cap stocks Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O ,
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Tesla Inc TSLA.O gained between
1.5% and 4.3% premarket as the benchmark Treasury yields
US10UT=RR dipped below the key 1.5% mark after shooting to a
one-year high above 1.6% last week. US/
High-growth tech stocks, which are attempting to regain
their footing after a recent pullback, are sensitive to
increasing interest rates as they are valued on earnings
expected years into the future.
The Nasdaq is now about 7% below its Feb. 12 record close
after falling as much as 12% last week.
The Dow on Wednesday hit a record closing high for the first
time since February as tepid inflation numbers allayed fears
that the economy is running too hot.
A sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which
includes $1,400 direct payments, received a final nod from
Congress on Thursday and is expected to surpercharge the
economic recovery from a pandemic that has killed more than
528,000 people and thrown millions out of work. The Labor Department's data at 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to
show the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell to
725,000 in the latest week from 745,000, amid an improving
public health environment.
At 6:35 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 67 points, or
0.21%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 26.5 points, or 0.68% and
Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 233 points, or 1.83%.
Investors will now eye an auction of U.S. 30-year debt later
in the day. A weak seven-year auction in late February fuelled
inflation concerns and sent yields higher. JD.com Inc JD.O climbed about 8% premarket after the
Chinese e-commerce company reported a jump in fourth-quarter
revenue as it benefited from a broader shift to online shopping
triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bumble Inc BMBL.O jumped about 10% after it reported a
bigger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter revenue and said it
expected pent-up demand from people who had been avoiding dating
in person due to the pandemic. A so-called "meme" stock AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc
AMC.N gained 7.5% as the cinema chain said the roll-out of
COVID-19 vaccines and the release of major movies, including
"Black Widow", would boost sales this year.