The Dow Jones Industrial average was set to build on its big Monday rally, while big technology stocks were headed for another loss as positive vaccine news sparks a market rotation out of names that thrived during the pandemic into stocks linked to an economic recovery.
Futures for the Dow climbed 205 points, or 0.7%, to 29,253.
Futures for the S&P 500 slumped 6.5 points, or 0.2%, at 3,536.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite faltered 185 points, or 1.6%, to 11,635.50, amid the ongoing investor rotation.
The NASDAQ fell 1.5% Monday, as investors dumped some of the popular stay-at-home plays such as Amazon, Zoom Video and Netflix. The index finished Monday's session near its session low.
Amazon shares were down another 2% in pre-market trading Tuesday after falling 5% on Monday. Zoom dropped 17% on Monday and traded 2% lower in the pre-market Tuesday. Netflix dipped 0.6% after dropping 8% Monday.
U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech announced Monday their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19.
The news sent travel stocks soaring as the' recovery of these companies depends on a successful economic reopening. American Airlines, Delta and United all jumped more than 15%, while Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean surged more than 25% each.
United was up another 2% in pre-market trading Tuesday. Carnival was up another 6%.
Pfizer's big vaccine news came as the U.S. topped 10 million cases of Covid-19, a bleak milestone just 10 days after reaching the nine million mark amid a record surge in daily infections. Many on Wall Street believe a viable vaccine would be crucial for the economy on its road to a full recovery.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index poked ahead 0.3%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 1.1%.
Oil prices picked 39 cents to $40.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $23.00 to $1,877.40.