By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen trading higher Monday, building on last week’s record levels, as growing expectations of fiscal stimulus combined with accelerating vaccinations offer hope for future economic growth.
At 7:05 AM ET (1205 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 120 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 Futures traded 11 points, or 0.3%, higher, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 47 points, or 0.4%.
The three major indices on Wall Street recorded their best weeks since November last week, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closing Friday at record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is less than 0.5% below its own closing record.
They have been helped by signs of progress in the country’s vaccination program, hope for a substantial stimulus plan as well as optimism over the country’s economic recovery, even after the January nonfarm payrolls report disappointed on Friday.
“Business surveys are offering encouragement and low hospitalization rates are allowing a partial re-opening in many states. With progress being made on vaccinations, much stronger jobs figures are likely from 2Q onwards,” said ING analyst James Knightley, in a research note.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen implied something similar on Sunday over the weekend when she predicted full U.S. employment next year if the proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package is passed. Reaching full employment would leave the Fed free to concentrate on meeting its inflation target.
The prospects for a quick passage improved last week when both the House and Senate passed legislation that would allow the Democratic-controlled Congress to pass the Covid relief bill without Republican support.
Progress on the vaccine rollout has also helped the tone, after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had administered over 35 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines as of late last week.
Another 78 companies in the S&P 500 are set to report quarterly results this week, during what has generally been a better than expected quarter. Upcoming U.S. reports in the week ahead include Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), General Motors (NYSE:GM), Uber (NYSE:UBER), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS).
In other corporate news, the Chinese state-owned publication The Global Times said China’s market regulator and four other government departments summoned Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) to a meeting to , "urge it...to strictly abide by Chinese laws and rules and protect consumers’ legitimate rights and interests." Few other details were immediately available.
Oil prices firmed Friday on growing hopes that increased stimulus will hasten an economic revival, coupled with supply curbs primarily by Saudi Arabia and other major producers.
U.S. crude futures traded 1.1% higher at $57.50 a barrel, after hitting $57.67, the highest since January last year.
The international benchmark Brent contract rose 0.8% to $60.04, after hitting a high of $60.26, also the highest level since January 2020.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,821.60/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.2027.