Peter Nurse   

Investing.com – U.S. stocks are seen opening higher Tuesday, rebounding after the previous session’s Omicron-related losses and helped by strong earnings from Micron Technology (NASDAQ:) and, to a lesser extent, Nike (NYSE:).

The contract traded at 7.09 AM ET (1400 GMT), up 320 point or 0.9%; 45 points higher, or 1%; and rose 170 points, which is 1.1%.

The major indices tumbled on Monday on the prospect of slowing growth, given the surge in new Covid cases, and the likely failure of President Joe Biden’s near $2 trillion social spending bill to pass through the Senate after Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, withdrew his support.

The blue-chip fell more than 400 points (or 1.2%), while broad-based lost 1.1% and tech-heavy plummeted 1.2%.

On Tuesday, however, things look brighter. Chief executive Officer of Moderna (NASDAQ) reported that the U.S. drugmaker might develop a booster shot for Omicron protection in a short time.

Omicron only requires minor modifications. Stephane Bancel, CEO of Omicron said that there are no problems and was speaking to TagesAnzeiger on Tuesday.

The rapid growth of cases of the Omicron Covid variant has prompted worries that the country’s economic recovery could stall just as the Federal Reserve is starting to rein in its accommodative monetary policy. According to Centers for Disease Control, the Omicron variant was found in at most 43 states. It was responsible for 73% new cases in the U.S. this week.

Strong numbers in the corporate sector also helped to boost sentiment. Nike stock is seen higher premarket after sales of its shoes and apparel in North America, the company’s largest market, rose 12% year-on-year, offsetting a 20% slump in sales in China. However, the company’s Vietnamese suppliers are still producing 20% less than their pre-pandemic level.

Micron is also seen posting robust gains premarket after a solid start to the chipmaker’s financial year, driven by strong demand for memory and storage chips, led it to promise a record year of sales with “solid profitability”.

These include General Mills Rite Aid (NYSE 🙂 will also be reporting quarterly results on Tuesday. 

After a few days of selling sharply, oil prices rose on Tuesday. Investors now wait for data from the to determine the supply of crude oil, which will be available later in the day.

This industry group estimated that crude stocks fell by 8115,000 barrels during the week ended December 10, and the draw was more than 4.5 Million barrels.

U.S. crude futures had traded 1.7% higher as they were $69.75/barrel at 7AM ET. The contract was up 1.5%, to $72.57. 

The price rose 0.2%, to $1,798.25/oz. It also rose 0.1%, to 1.1284.