Devik Jain and Ambar Warrick

(Reuters) – U.S. Stock Index Futures jumped Monday, as investors rushed to profit from steep virus-driven loss while waiting for more information on the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Wall Street Indexes plunged as low as 2% to 3.5% after Friday’s news about the variant caused a worldwide selloff. Countries introduced travel restrictions on concerns that it would resist vaccinations, and could disrupt an economic revival.

The White House announced that President Joe Biden will update the public about the variant and the United States’ reaction later in the afternoon.

Premarket gains in travel stocks were strong, despite being among those worst affected by Friday’s selloff. After plummeting between 3% and 9% Friday, shares of the major airlines rose between 0.3% to 2.6%.

Halliburton, (NYSE:) Co soared by 2.9% on Friday as oil prices recovered from Friday’s decline. [O/R]

Berenberg analysts wrote that the most important question when looking ahead is whether the new variant is really dangerous.

At the moment, little is known. The markets could rise if COVID-19 vaccines are also available for this version. A negative outcome could lead to more discomfort.

At 6:30 AM. ET were up 231 or 0.66%. Up 39.75 Points, or 0.86%. And up 164.5 Points, or 1.2%.

Premarket movers included Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International shares, which fell 0.8% and 0.6% respectively. This was due to losses at their Macau unit, which was rattled by arrests for alleged money laundering and cross-border gambling.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ) rose 1.9% following Electrek’s report that Tesla, an electric car manufacturer (NASDAQ) Inc had begun using a new AMD chips in Model Y cars in China.

Tesla shares also rose 1.9% following a report by the media that Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, urged his employees to cut down on vehicle delivery costs.

TJX Companies (NYSE 🙂 increased 2.4% Citigroup (NYSE) The stock of T.J. Maxx’s owner was elevated to “buy”, from “neutral”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:), rose 1.5% as HSBC increased its price target to the iPhone maker’s stock.