US STOCKS-Wall St to open higher as easing China COVID curbs lift travel, leisure stocks

Travel and leisure shares positioned U.S. stock indexes for a higher open on Tuesday after China relaxed some COVID-19 quarantine requirements for international travelers, raising hopes of a revival in global growth.

Airlines, cruises, casinos and hotels were among the gainers in premarket trading after China's slashing of the quarantine time for inbound travelers by half boosted hopes of a big jump in international travel and spending. Shares of Walt Disney Inc rose 1.7% to top the list of gainers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after the company's Shanghai Disney Resort said it would reopen the Disneyland theme park on June 30 after being shut for more than three months.

Spirit Airlines and American Airlines Group Inc were the biggest gainers in the sector, rising 4.2% and 1.1% respectively. Melco Resorts jumped 12.4% and led the rise in the casino sector, closely followed by Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International.

Wall Street's main indexes started the week on soft footing after worries of surging inflation and an aggressive Federal Reserve dominated sentiment amid few market-moving catalysts till the start of earnings season in two weeks. Investors are now looking at data to determine whether the economy can withstand large interest rate hikes by the U.S. central bank to stamp out inflation.

"People are coming into the end of the quarter with a little bit more stability than they had certainly a month ago and have digested that the Fed may need to use the recession as a policy tool," said David Waddell, chief executive officer at investment advisory firm Waddell & Associates. "You also have a lot of position squaring, allocation and right sizing going into the end of the quarter, which create a little bit of uplift."

A survey from the Conference Board, due at 10 a.m. ET, is expected to show its consumer confidence index slipped to a reading of 100.4 in June, from 106.4 in May. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set to post losses in June and are on course to log two straight quarterly declines for the first time since 2015.

At 8:29 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 95 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.25 points, or 0.24% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 13 points, or 0.11%. Nike Inc shed 2.8% as it forecast first-quarter revenue below estimates on expectations of more discounts and pandemic-related disruptions in China, its most profitable market.

Occidental Petroleum Corp climbed 3.7% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its stake in the shale producer.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)