US stocks point to higher open on Wall Street

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday morning as markets continue to rebound from Monday’s heavy sell-off.

At around 2 a.m. ET, Dow futures were up by 55 points and implied a positive open of more than 92 points, while futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also higher.

Markets rallied on Tuesday to snap a five-day losing streak and begin a recovery from the largest sell-off in more than three months on Monday, resulting from global concern over the spread of the Chinese coronavirus.

Chinese officials said late Tuesday that the death toll has risen to 132 with total cases in China now standing at 5,974. The White House told U.S. airlines on Tuesday that the administration is considering a suspension of flights from China to the U.S.

Investors will be closely watching the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon, as the central bank convenes for its first monetary policy meeting of the decade.

The main interest rate is widely expected to hold steady in the 1.50% to 1.75% range, but the market will likely be attuned late in the session to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, particularly any comments about the Fed’s repo program or the potential economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Corporate earnings season remains in focus, after Goldman Sachs and Apple led the Dow’s gains on Tuesday.

AT&T, Boeing, General Electric, Mastercard and McDonald’s are all set to report before the bell on Wednesday, while earnings for behemoths Facebook, Microsoft and Tesla will all come in after the close of trade.