Wall Street Likely To Open On Firm Note
Higher futures following the U.S. House passing the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill proposed by President Joe Biden point to a positive start for the U.S. market Monday morning.
The drop in bond yields is another positive for stocks this morning. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury dropped to around 1.43 percent, well off a high of 1.55 percent seen last week.
The Dow futures are rising 0.93 percent, the S&P futures are up 1.05 percent and the Nasdaq futures are climbing 1.2 percent.
After the House passed the bill on Saturday, Biden said, “We act now – decisively, quickly and boldly – we can finally get ahead of this virus. We can finally get our economy moving again. People in this country have suffered far too much for too long.”
With Republicans questioning the need for another massive spending package, the Democrats are looking to clear it on their own on the Senate and send it to the President’s desk before the unemployment aid programs expire by the end of second week.
Reports showing new coronavirus cases in the U.S. are going down rapidly may aid sentiment. According to John Hopkins University’s latest update, 51,024 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the lowest daily figure reported since October 8. It was also less than a quarter of the number of new infections reported a month ago.
Accenture (ACN) announced Monday that it has acquired Cirrus, a UK-based leadership and talent consultancy. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Johnson & Johnson shares will be in focus following the FDA approving the company’s Covid-19 vaccine.
On the data front, a report on manufacturing activity in the U.S. for the month of February is due out at 9:45 AM ET.
The ISM Manufacturing New Order Index and Manufacturing Prices Index for January are due at 10 AM ET.
A report on construction spending in the month of January is also due out at 10 AM ET.
The U.S. market ended mixed on Friday after a highly volatile session. While a rebound by technology stocks lifted the Nasdaq, the Dow ended sharply lower. Recent steep spike in bond yields and a lack of fresh triggers contributed to the wild swings in the market.
The Nasdaq climbed 72.91 points or 0.6 percent to 13,192.34 after ending Thursday’s trading at its lowest closing level in a nearly month. Meanwhile, the Dow plunged 469.64 points or 1.5 percent to 30,932.37 and the S&P 500 fell 18.19 points or 0.5 percent to 3,811.15.
All the major averages posted sharp losses for the week. The Nasdaq plummeted by 4.9 percent and the S&P 500 tumbled by 2.4 percent, while the Dow slumped by 1.8 percent.
In overseas trading, Asian markets ended broadly higher on Monday amid optimism about vaccine rollout and economic recovery.
European markets are notably higher on expectations of faster economic recovery.
West Texas International Crude oil futures for April are gaining $0.62 or 1.01 percent at $62.12 a barrel.
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