Stock futures rise slightly following tech rebound

U.S. stock futures moved slightly higher on Wednesday night following a rebound during market hours that stopped a three-day skid. 

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 50 points, or 0.2%, mirroring gains for S&P 500 futures. Contracts for the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.3%. 

The move in futures follows a broad rally for the market on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising 2% for its best day since June. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.7% to pull itself out of correction territory after a sell-off for major tech stocks drove a sharp sell-off in three straight sessions. 

Some of stocks hardest hit during the recent slide saw more dramatic pops. Shares of Tesla, fresh off their worst day on record, rose nearly 11%. Tech giant Apple gained 4% to bring its market cap back to $2 trillion. 

The three-day drop came amid increasing worry on Wall Street about a tech bubble, with major tech stocks fueling the Nasdaq Composite to record highs despite the hit to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic. Some said the pullback did not go far enough, with Duquesne Family Office CEO Stanley Druckenmiller telling CNBC on Wednesday morning that the market was in an “absolute raging mania.” 

Others pointed to reasons why the market could regain its footing once again. Liz Young, the director of market strategy for BNY Investment Management, said the investor cash still parked on the sidelines after the pandemic-induced sell-off in February and March should provide support for stocks. 

“People go to cash in droves — and it’s immediate, it’s a big wave. They come back in in drips. So as it drips back in, that cash is going to look for more attractive valuation opportunities. So I think it’s natural that it would look for things that have been a little more beaten down or some of the stocks that haven’t driven us up to this point,” Young said on “Closing Bell.” “But I don’t think we’re in a place now where you have to start selling rallies and taking exposure off the table.”

Investors will be be greeted with new economic data on Thursday morning, including the Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims report. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect 850,000 new claims, down from 881,000 last week. 

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