US STOCKS-Wall St set to open higher as investors weigh stimulus against shutdown

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* Abbott top gainer among S&P 500 components
* Cruise operators slump after brokerage cuts PTs
* JPMorgan sees real U.S. GDP falling 10% in Q1
* Oil stocks fall to 18-year lows
* Futures up: Dow 0.65%, S&P 0.92%, Nasdaq 1.03%

(Adds details, comments; updates prices)
By Uday Sampath Kumar and Medha Singh
March 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open slightly
higher on Monday as President Donald Trump followed last week's
massive fiscal stimulus by extending his stay-at-home
guidelines, leaving investors guessing at their 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 way to gauge the short-term direction of
markets right now when there is still so much uncertainty," said
David Bahnsen, chief investment officer of Bahnsen Group in
California.
"The shape of the inevitable economic recovery is unknown
and will be for weeks or months."
Trump on Sunday dropped a hotly criticized plan to get the
economy up and running again by mid-April after White House
health experts argued strongly with him to extend the
stay-at-home order so the country could start seeing the rates
of infection come down. 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.
"Until we've got some evidence that can help deal with the
virus, it's probably more choppy markets ahead," said Noah
Hamman, chief executive office of AdvisorShares in Bethesda,
Maryland.
At 08:41 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 139 points,
or 0.65%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 23.5 points, or 0.92%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 78.25 points, or 1.03%.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N rose 4.5% as the drugmaker
announced plans to start human testing of its experimental
coronavirus vaccine by September
Abbott Laboratories ABT.N was the top gainer among S&P 500
components, rising nearly 10% after it won U.S. approval for a
diagnostic test that can detect coronavirus in minutes.
General Motors Co GM.N rose 5% 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. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N , Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd RCL.N and Carnival Corp CCL.N slumped after
Berenberg slashed its price targets on cruise operators by about
a third. Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N and Chevron Corp CVX.N
fell over 2% as U.S. crude prices fell below $20 for the first
time in 18 years. O/R