S&P 500, NASDAQ Composite Edge Higher on Hopes of China Reopening Economy

The major U.S. stock index futures contracts point toward a mixed opening with gains led by the benchmark S&P 500 Index and the tech-weighted Nasdaq Composite. The blue chip Dow is bucking the trend with a lower performance.

At 13:15 GMT, S&P 500 Index futures are trading 3972.00, up 1.75 or +0.04% and Nasdaq Composite Index futures are at 11638.25, up 22.00 or +0.19%. Dow Jones Industrial futures are trading 33829.00, down 42.00 or -0.12%.

S&P 500, Nasdaq Tracking Asia Higher on Positive China-related COVID Developments

The broad-based S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes are called higher after stocks in Hong Kong closed at session highs as Chinese health authorities reported a recent uptick in senior vaccination rates, which is regarded by experts as crucial to reopening the economy that has been facing sporadic lockdowns, CNBC reported.

Stocks strengthened as a Chinese official told reporters that 65.8% of people “over age 80” had received booster shots. On top of that, the government reported the first decline in Covid infections within mainland China in more than a week.

This is good news for the U.S. stock market since investors faced a fresh round of uncertainty the previous session as they grew increasingly concerned that strict Chinese Covid protocols could hamper global supply chains, and possibly drag the U.S. economy into recession.

Nasdaq Tech Shares Bounce Back

The technology-driven NASDAQ Composite is being supported by a handful of beaten down growth stocks that are trading higher ahead of the cash market opening.

Shares of Tesla are leading gains with a 1.7% jump in premarket trading. Other high growth stocks performing well in the early session are Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Meta Platforms. All are posting gains of between 0.7% and 0.8%.

S&P 500 Energy Sector Lifted by Jump in Crude Oil Prices

Through Monday’s close, the S&P Energy Sector had gained more than 60% this year, the only one out of 11 sectors in the S&P 500 to be sitting on year-to-date gains greater than 1%. As recently as November 15, it closed at a record high.

The uptrend is expected to resume on Tuesday following crude oil strong reversal on Monday and continuation rally today. Oil is being supported by the hopes of an easing of strict COVID-related restrictions in China, and the possibility of another reduction in output by OPEC+.

Oil-related stocks on the move early Tuesday include Chevron Corporation (CVX), up 0.93% and ExxonMobil (XOM), up 1.04%.