Futures rise at the end of stormy week

By C Nivedita

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures gained on Friday with bargain hunters returning at the end of a tumultuous week marked by a record collapse in oil prices and growing evidence of the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P 500 <.SPX> ended slightly lower on Thursday as a report raised doubts about a potential treatment for COVID-19 and as data confirmed a near halt in business activity.

With the outbreak wiping out all the U.S. jobs created since the global financial crisis, investors are tracking comments from Corporate America for signs of a revival in production as some states start easing lockdown measures.

Denting expectations, a report said Boeing Co was planning to cut 787 Dreamliner output by about half and announce job cuts in its first-quarter earnings report next week.

Analysts expect a 14.1% decline in S&P 500 first-quarter earnings after a mixed bag of reports from U.S. banks and consumer discretionary firms so far.

Credit card issuer American Express Co and Verizon Communications are slated to issue quarterly reports later in the day.

At 06:19 a.m. EDT, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 127 points, or 0.54%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.5 points, or 0.63% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 35 points, or 0.4%.

SPDR S&P 500 ETFs were up 0.4%.

The S&P 500 index <.SPX> closed down 0.05% at 2,797.8 on Thursday.

(Reporting by C Nivedita in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)