Futures firm on bets of China-led rebound

By Medha Singh

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday as bets on China leading the revival from a coronavirus-driven downturn helped investors look past a domestic surge in new infections over the long weekend.

A slew of encouraging U.S. economic data, including record weekly job additions, helped the Nasdaq <.ixic> end at an all-time closing high last week and brought the S&P 500 <.spx> and Dow <.dji> nearly 8% and 13% below their respective peaks from February.

However, a surge in coronavirus cases has cast a shadow over the strong rally in stocks as many U.S. states have curtailed their reopening plans, threatening to derail the economic recovery.

The Independence day weekend saw a record increase in new infections in several states, with Florida surpassing the highest daily tally reported by any European country during the height of the outbreak.

China stocks rose over 5% on Monday, boosted by ample liquidity, cheap funding and expectations of a faster and better bounce back in business activity than other major countries still battling coronavirus infections. [.SS]

Data at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) is likely to show ISM’s non-manufacturing activity index rose to a reading of 50.1 in June from 45.4 in May.

At 6:21 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 391 points, or 1.52%. S&P 500 e-minis were up 39.5 points, or 1.26% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 130.25 points, or 1.26%.

Among stocks, Tesla Inc gained 6.3%, building on a four-day rally as J.P. Morgan bumped up its price target for the electric carmaker’s stock following its better-than-expected quarterly deliveries.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)