US pre-open: Futures point to solid gains ahead of the bell

Wall Street stock futures were firmly in the green ahead of the bell on Tuesday as major indices looked set to build upon the previous session's solid gains.

As of 1155 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 1.05%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 1.33% and 1.80% stronger, respectively.

The Dow closed 646.95 points higher on Monday as fears regarding the Covid-19 omicron variant seemingly subsided.

Market participants now appear to be of the opinion that the risk posed by the new Covid-19 strain may be less than initially feared after White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci said over the weekend that initial data was "encouraging". However, he also warned that more information was required before the variant and its effects could be fully understood.

On the macro front, October balance of trade figures will be released at 1330 GMT, while October consumer credit change data will follow at 2000 GMT.

Investors were also patiently awaiting fresh inflation data on Friday, with the consumer price index, expected to be even hotter than the previous month, seen as potentially being the catalyst for the Federal Reserve Bank to tighten its policies sooner than expected.

Markets.com's Neil Wilson said: "Risk appetite is improving as evidence incrementally supports the case that the omicron variant will be less damaging to the economy than was supposed at the end of November. Traders and investors start to get twitchy about missing out a Santa rally around this time of year, but bad omicron news could emerge in the meantime.

"Markets flushed out at the first sign of omicron, but now are more confident it won't be as bad as first feared. There will still be restrictions on liberty for no good reason, and therefore potential growth, but as we have consistently seen during the pandemic, economic sentiment does not equal market sentiment. Even though the Federal Reserve is in a very different place to this time last year, there is enough strength and depth and liquidity at the moment to absorb 5-7% drawdowns without too much fuss."

In the corporate space, retailer AutoZone will report before the open, while restauranteur Dave & Busters will update on recent trading after the close.