US Stock Market Futures: Dow Surges 200 Points; S&P 500, Nasdaq Indicate Opening Gains

Stocks at all three major Wall Street indices are green and set to go Tuesday with futures portending a second straight day of gains following Monday's late afternoon surge.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average improved 240 points, implying a Tuesday opening gain of 173 points. S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite futures also pointed to a positive start to Tuesday trade for both major indices.

The unspectacular late rally Monday saw the Dow inch forward by a mere 0.11% to 23,749.76 after falling by 362 points at the open. The S&P 500 wound-up in positive territory after improving only 0.42% to 2,842.74, while the NASDAQ Composite rose the largest, at 1.23% to 8,710.

Winners at the S&P 500 were the energy, information technology and utilities segment led by Exxon Mobil Corporation and Chevron Corporation, which were rewarded by a +6.07% spike in the price of crude to $20.98 a barrel. Apple Inc. led the NASDAQ higher before a big week of earnings reports.

The strength shown by the biggest U.S. tech firms such as Microsoft Corporation, Apple, Amazon.com and Netflix, while lifting the broad market out of negative territory, was also a worrisome display of too much market power concentrated in too few firms.

“Megacaps mask underlying rally fragility,” said Ken Johnson, investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo. “This concentration raises concerns about the rally’s long-term health and durability as it suggests that ample liquidity, rather than broadly improving fundamentals, may be fueling it.”

On the broader health front, investors took heart in California reporting the fewest COVID-19 deaths in three weeks. Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed some business throughout the state will reopen by May 8.

On Monday, Newsom announced the hard-hit state will allow some retail businesses to reopen on Friday. Newsom said among the businesses slated to resume business are book stores, clothing stores, toy stores, sporting goods stores, music shops and florists.

"We are entering into the next phase this week," said Newsom. "This is a very positive sign and it's happened only for one reason: The data says it can happen."

The good news from California was enough to outweigh the bad news from the White House where president Donald Trump indicated he might resume his trade war against China to deflect blame away from his mishandling of the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.