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(Updates with analyst quote)

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Futures up: Dow 0.88%, Nasdaq 1.42%, S&P 1.16%

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S&P's business activity survey due at 9:45 a.m. ET

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Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) drops on brokerage downgrade

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Crypto stocks gain as bitcoin prices rise

By Sruthi Shankar, Johann M Cherian

March 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street futures jumped on

Monday, as investors held out hope for a more measured approach

to U.S. tariffs, and awaited economic data for signals on the

health of the U.S. economy and inflation.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is likely to

exclude a set of sector-specific tariffs while applying

reciprocal levies on April 2, according to media reports over

the weekend that helped sentiment in early trading.

The main U.S. stock indexes closed slightly higher on Friday and

marked weekly gains after Trump hinted at flexibility on a new

round of tariffs set to go into effect next month.

"Arguing that the worst is over may be a premature

conclusion," said Charalampos Pissouros, senior market analyst

at brokerage XM.

"Trump has shown how unpredictable he is, while data could

reinforce the notion that the U.S. economy is losing momentum.

Another round of risk aversion as soon as this week cannot be

ruled out."

Financial markets have whipsawed over the past several weeks as

traders have been confronted by fears of a sharp U.S. economic

slowdown after Trump announced a series of tariffs last month on

some of its main trading partners including China, Mexico and

Canada.

Several companies have also cited tariff uncertainty as they

lowered their forecasts for the upcoming quarters. Data compiled

by LSEG as of Friday showed, earnings of companies included in

the S&P 500 are expected to grow by 10.5% in 2025, down by 3.5

percentage points since the beginning of the year.

However, U.S. stocks appear to have found a floor after

weeks-long selloff that pushed the benchmark S&P 500 and

the tech-heavy Nasdaq down by 10% from their record

highs - commonly known as correction.

At 7:28 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 373 points, or

0.88%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 66.5 points, or 1.16% and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 282.75 points, or 1.42%.

Investors were also awaiting a slew of economic indicators

this week including business activity data for March, weekly

jobless claims and the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE)

price index - the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.

S&P Global's flash PMI readings later in the day are

expected to show U.S. manufacturing and services sector activity

slowed in March. The Chicago Fed's National Activity Index for

the month of February is also on tap.

Technology stocks led the way higher in premarket trading.

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) rose 1.6%, Nvidia ( NVDA ) added 1.8% and

Apple ( AAPL ) gained 0.9%.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) dipped after a report said

Goldman Sachs downgraded the server maker to "sell."

Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) fell 1.7% as BofA Global Research

downgraded the weapons maker to "neutral" from "buy".

Crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) advanced 5.2%,

Coinbase added gained 4.4% and Mara Holdings ( MARA )

climbed 4.6%, tracking a 2.8% rise in bitcoin prices.