Wall St set to bounce on signs of easing Russia-Ukraine tensions

US stock indexes were set for a stronger open on Tuesday, led by gains in shares of megacap growth names and banks on signs of a de-escalation in tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia said some of its military units were returning to their bases after exercises near Ukraine and mocked repeated Western warnings about a looming invasion, but NATO said it had yet to see any sign of de-escalation on the ground.

Megacap growth stocks including Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Google-owner Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Amazon.com Inc , Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) rose between 1.5 per cent and 2.6 per cent in premarket trading.

Big banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Citigroup Inc (C.N) jumped 1 per cent each.
Occidental Petroleum slipped 2.5 per cent, leading energy shares lower as oil prices dropped from a seven-year
high.

The CBOE Market Volatility index (.VIX), a gauge for investor anxiety, fell back after shooting up to its highest level in nearly three weeks in the previous session.