Futures up, Howard Marks buying, another volatile day?

This is a live blog. Check back for updates.

Tesla will cut pay for all of its salaried employees and will furlough hourly workers until May 4, when it intends to resume production of electric cars, according to an internal e-mail that multiple employees shared with CNBC. The pay reductions are expected to be in place until the end of the second quarter.

Health orders, implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19, forced Elon Musk’s electric car company to wind down production at its main vehicle assembly plant in Fremont, California. Shares of Tesla gained 1.5{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} in Wednesday’s premarket trading. – Kolodny

Billionaire investor Howard Marks, who a few months ago warned peers to use extreme caution, now thinks it’s time to ease up on defense. The Oaktree Capital co-founder said that a number of conditions in the market have changed in recent weeks that make risk assets more attractive. “Given these new conditions, I no longer feel defense should be favored,” Marks said in one of his widely-read memos. He adds: “The risks in the environment are recognized and largely understood.” — Franck

U.S. stock index futures are pointing to modest gains at the opening bell, after a volatile overnight trading session that saw swings between gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to open 88 points, or 0.37{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 are set to rise 0.2{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and 0.4{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, respectively.

Stocks closed little changed on Tuesday, but the numbers themselves disguise the action in the session. The Dow swung nearly 985 points from its high to low, before closing 26 points lower. Investors cheered positive coronavirus headlines and some of the sectors that have been hit the hardest since the pandemic began — such as airlines and cruise lines — moved sharply higher. But by the final hour of trading sentiment shifted and stocks gave back their gains.

Given Monday’s rally, the major averages are all still up more than 6{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} for the holiday-shortened week. – Stevens

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.