Stocks trade higher as coronavirus cases slow
New virus cases in China have been falling
U.S. equity futures are pointing to gains when trading begins as the number of coronavirus cases has reportedly slowed.
The major futures indexes are indicating a rise of 0.3 percent when Wall Street opens for business.
Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday, despite overnight losses on Wall Street and continuing fears about the coronavirus.
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Japan's Nikkei rose 0.9 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent and China's Shanghai Composite was off 0.3 percent.
Adding to optimism, new virus cases in China have been falling, with 1,749 new infections and 136 new deaths announced on Wednesday. But data are showing disruptions to manufacturing, retailing and tourism.
CORONAVIRUS CASES FALL AS CHINA VOWS NO PATIENT UNCHECKED
Japan reported its third straight month of a trade deficit in January and like the rest of Asia is enduring a downturn in tourism. Some controls have been set on travel to and from China and other places suffering from outbreaks of the virus.
In Europe, London's FTSE is up by 0.8 percent, Germany's DAX is adding 0.5 percent and France's CAC is 0.7 percent higher.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 38362.51 | +122.53 | +0.32% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5039.8 | +29.20 | +0.58% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15564.752094 | +113.45 | +0.73% |
Banks and technology stocks accounted for most of the decline in U.S. stocks on Tuesday.
The S&P 500 index fell 0.3 percent. The benchmark index remains just below its all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.6 percent after Apple warned its revenue may be lower than forecast due to the coronavirus in China.
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The Nasdaq recovered from an early slide, inching up 0.1 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.