Stock futures gain as market seeks to retain rebound

Following a negative day, stock futures increased early on Tuesday as the market tried to maintain its recovery from the lows of the bear market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased by 165 points or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures increased by 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 0.4%.

Small losses on Wall Street were followed by midnight trading when a rallying comeback stalled. On Monday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7% while the broad S&P 500 declined 0.3% and the blue-chip Dow dropped roughly 60 points.

As key averages bounced off their yearly lows, the main averages posted their first positive week since May last week. The S&P 500 is up more than 7% from its mid-June low, but it is still down 18% for the year.

“One of the trickier calls in this business is evaluating the difference between a bounce in a bear market vs. the start of a more durable advance,” wrote Chris Verrone, technical analyst with Strategas. “The current bounce, +8% over the last 4 trading days, has been impressive on the surface as most moves of this context tend to be, but again has yet to signal any resounding internal or leadership improvement.”