Dow futures bounce 600 points higher as Wall Street tries to recover from its worst day since March

U.S. stock futures rebounded Friday morning after a resurgence in coronavirus cases in many states sent equity prices plunging a day earlier.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures implied an opening gain of about 600 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures also pointed to a positive open.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Thursday all recorded their biggest one-day losses since mid-March, posting losses of at least 5.3%. Thursday’s declines put the major averages on pace for their biggest weekly losses since March 20, when they all dropped at least 12%.

Thursday’s losses came after data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed the number of new coronavirus cases has risen in states like Arizona, South Carolina and Texas as they continue their reopening process. Still, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC’s Jim Cramer the U.S. can’t shut down the economy again.

Overall, more than 2 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the U.S. along with over 100,000 deaths.

Stocks had been ripping higher prior to this week, as investors cheered the prospects of the economy recovering as states and countries eases quarantine measures.

Despite Thursday’s sell-off, the S&P 500 and Dow remained more than 37% above the intraday lows reached on March 23. Most of those gains have been driven by stocks that would benefit from the economy reopening, including airlines, cruise lines and retailers.

American, Delta and United ended Thursday’s session down more than 20% each for the week while Southwest has lost 14%. Banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America — which have surged amid expectations of improving economic activity — are all down over 12% for the week. Consumer sentiment data along with the latest U.S. import and export numbers are scheduled for release Friday morning.

Dow futures bounce 600 points higher as Wall Street tries to recover from its worst day since March, CNBC, Jun 12