US STOCKS-Futures point to rebound as China seeks to curb virus impact

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* Futures up: Dow 0.34%, S&P 0.40%, Nasdaq 0.43%

By Medha Singh
Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures climbed on
Monday, following steep declines in the previous session, as
China took steps to relieve pressure on its economy from the
impact of the coronavirus epidemic.
The country's central bank cut reverse repo rates by 10
basis points and injected 1.2 trillion yuan ($171 billion) to
limit the damage from travel curbs and business shut-downs on
the economy.
However, that could not stop a near 8% plunge in Chinese
.CSI300 stocks as investors played catch-up after an extended
Lunar New year holiday.
Fears surrounding the spread of coronavirus, which has been
declared a global emergency, had led the S&P 500 .SPX and the
Dow Jones Industrials .DJI to record on Friday their worst
weekly losses in at least five months.
The uncertainty following the virus outbreak has pulled the
benchmark S&P 500 down about 3% since Jan. 21, when the first
case was reported in the United States, and has overshadowed
fourth-quarter earnings season.
Shares of drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc GILD.O rose 3.7%
in premarket trading after the company said it has provided its
experimental Ebola therapy for use in a small number of patients
with the coronavirus in China. Meanwhile, Apple Inc AAPL.O slipped 1.2% as the iPhone
maker shut all of its official stores and corporate offices in
mainland China until Feb 9.
At 7:23 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 96 points, or
0.34%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 13 points, or 0.4% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 38.75 points, or 0.43%.
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O is due to report four-quarter results
after markets close, while Walt Disney DIS.N , General Motors
GM.N and Kellogg Co K.N will post results later this week.
About 70% of the 126 S&P 500 companies that have reported
quarterly results so far, have topped earnings estimates.
Shares of Nike NKE.N rose 1.5% after JP Morgan added the
footwear maker's shares to their focus list, saying they view
the recent pullback in its shares as a multi-year buying
opportunity.
Investors will also keep an eye on Iowa caucuses on Monday,
the first nominating contest of the 2020 presidential election.
On the economic front, manufacturing PMI data from Markit
Economics and Institute for Supply Management are due later this
morning. = 7.0155 Chinese yuan renminbi)