Dow futures up more than 200 points after Nasdaq Composite claws back 2020 losses, jobs report ahead

U.S. stock futures rose early Friday morning after more gains in tech led to the Nasdaq Composite erasing all of its losses for 2020.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up by 235 points, implying an opening gain of about 276 points on Friday. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also pointed to Friday opening gains for the two indexes.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4% during the cash session, finishing up nearly 0.1% year to date. Gains from Facebook, Amazon Alphabet and Apple helped lift the index back into positive territory for 2020. At one point, the Nasdaq was down more than 25% year to date.

Stocks that would benefit from reopening the economy rose broadly. Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival both gained more than 5% while Hilton Worldwide climbed 1.6%. American and Delta Air Lines both climbed over 3% while JetBlue gained 2%. MGM resorts jumped 7.3%.

The gains earlier on Thursday also put the Nasdaq up 35.4% from its March 23 low. The S&P 500 has also rallied 31.5% in that time.

But Michael Shaoul, chairman and CEO of Marketfield Asset Management, said the market’s recent moves — which have been tame compared to others seen this year — suggest “an understandable fatigue with the constant stream of conflicting information about the progress of the virus and potential for happier and more drastic outcomes in the months ahead.”

On Friday, the Labor Department will release its monthly jobs report. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect that more than 21 million jobs were lost in April.

Dow futures up more than 200 points after Nasdaq Composite claws back 2020 losses, jobs report ahead, CNBC, May 8