US pre-open: Futures have rally continuing for third day
US futures were pointing to modest gains at the bell on Wednesday, continuing a rally started on Monday.
As of 1230 BST, Dow futures were up 0.80%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.79% and 0.76% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed 133.33 points higher on Tuesday as market participants again bet on the nation's economy opening up and cheered a further recovery in oil prices.
The moves come despite Donald Trump acknowledging on Tuesday that there would undoubtedly be "more death" from the Covid-19 pandemic if the US began to re-open but argued that closed businesses would cost people their lives in other ways - including overdoses and suicides.
Covid-19 has already inflected at least 1.1m Americans and killed more than 70,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Although Wall Street ended out the previous session in the green, indices fell off their session highs after Federal Reserve vice chairman Richard Clarida warned that the US would need more policy support from the central bank in order to weather the Covid-19 storm.
AJ Bell's Russ Mould said: "Investors seemed relatively cautious following April's sharp rebound in global markets, perhaps weighed down by renewed tensions between the US and China and ongoing uncertainty about exactly when the coronavirus crisis will end.
"A lot of hope is already priced into stocks and there is a growing feeling that earnings forecasts are being too optimistic, thus dampening some of the enthusiasm we've recently seen on the markets."
On the macro front, US mortgage rates fell to a fresh record low last week, while new applications edged higher and purchase volumes continued to increase as more states around the country plot coronavirus lockdown exits.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said 30-year fixed rates for conforming loan balances of less than $510,400 fell 3 basis points to 3.4% for the week ending May 1 - the lowest on record and a full 1% lower from the same period last year.
Still to come, ADP employment figures will be released at 1315 BST, while the Federal Reserve's Raphael Bostic will deliver a speech at 1830 BST.
In corporate news, video games developer Activision Blizzard was up 5% in extended trading after beating on earnings and upping its full-year guidance, while Disney shares were in the red ahead of the bell after reporting a 58% drop in sales.
Spirit Airlines, General Motors, Wendy's, CVS Health, Lyft, PayPal and Papa John's will publish results on Wednesday.